Angstgent 24
by Kia619
Summary: Agent 8 has made it out of Kamabo, and is excited to integrate into Inkling society. Meanwhile Agent 3 is busy trying to figure out why her head hurts all the time and why she can't help but get flustered in the presence of a certain Octoling. - Cover image by shannyscribbles.
1. 1-1 Scars

Agent 3 was strong, she was fierce, she was intense. Her friends and her enemies knew this very well. But, there was one thing about Agent 3 that she dare not let even her closest friends know about her.

Agent 3 hated herself.

She didn't hate everything about herself, that would be absurd. She likes the physique she obtained by working with the NSBS, her body was muscular and she looked like she could probably lift the Octobot King if she wanted to. And many of her battle scars painted across her body told a story of daring adventure and death-defying action.

But there was one scar that she held no such feelings towards. There was one scar that, every time she saw it, made her feel like a failure. And the worst part? It was painted right across her face.

7am, Agent 3's apartment

Agent 3's alarm went off, blaring the most annoying sound any cephalopod had ever heard.

3's fist came slamming down on it, aaand now it's smashed to pieces.

"Oh for fucks sake" Three says as she sits up, her vision still blurry from waking up. She stretches her arms out and lets out a loud yawn. "I swear I spend more money on Alarm clocks than I do anything else."

Finally Three climbs out of bed, leaving the horrifying remains of what used to be her alarm clock sitting on her bedside table. She could deal with it later, there was a mission today. Cap'n Cuttlefish had found some information about something called the "Kamabo institute" or was it "Corporation"? Whatever it was, Three didn't care. All she knew was, Cap'n had a lead on something dangerous, and she wasn't gonna sit idly by and let it consume the world.

After a brief shower, mostly to wake up, Three donned her agent outfit and headed towards the meeting place Cap'n had sent to her. Callie and Marie had offered to update her Hero uniform, they had a new jacket design with the reflectors built into it instead of wearing a vest overtop, but truth be told, Agent 3 liked the old duds. Sure, they weren't as "Fresh" but Agent 3 liked them all the same. But those new headphones did tempt her, they looked like they were designed to fit more snuggly against the wearers head, making it less likely for them to fall off. But Three decided to just keep the old look, it's how she defeated DJ Octavio and the Octobot King after all.

"Ah Agent 3! Good to see you again!" The Captain's cheerful voice rings like music to her ears.

"Hello Captain" She lets out a smile. "Good to see you again as well."

"Yes, if only it were under better circumstances" The Captain sighs.

"Hey, we're the New Squidbeak Splatoon, dire situations are like, stopping for coffee for us right?"

That gets the old Captain to chuckle a little.

"Alright alright, well we mustn't waste any time, I've not been able to find out MUCH about Kamabo, but we're heading in to see if the intel I do have is correct."

Agent 3 nods. "Yeah from what you told me, re-animated Octarians and Octolings, not a good look. Hopefully we can put a stop to it."

The captain taps a metal grate with his cane "Right here is where I believe our best entrance is, it's right on the border between Octarian territory and Kamabo's, there should be a way through to the Kamabo side through here."

Agent 3 nods, readies her Hero Shot, and signals for Captain to open the grate. He flips it open with a loud CLANG, then Agent 3 and him jump in.

Agent 3 didn't know entirely what to expect, but after finding out that Marina of Off the Hook (yes 3 liked them, but she'd never tell a soul) was freed from DJ Octavio's mind control using the Squid Sisters "Calamari Inkantation", 3 always kept it ready to play should a mission get too hairy.

What Agent 3 didn't expect was for it to go sideways due to a single Octoling.

The Octoling was FAST, Three would've assumed special ops, if she wasn't busy trying to _not die._ How was this Octoling so good? And she only had an Octoshot! It's like, a glorified Splattershot at best, Agent 3's Hero Shot was, for lack of a better term, superior.

And here 3 was, nearly covered in Octoling ink, it stung like a motherfucker, but 3 didn't stop fighting. The Octoling was covering terf, making pathways to move, so 3 had to do the same.

Three shot out from behind the box that had made her temporary cover, rolling out a quick bomb shooting her ink across the floor, and submerging to move quickly through it. The bomb had distracted the Octoling, but not for long as she turned to face 3, firing her Octoshot immediately. Three rolled into a backflip to get away from the shots, glancing over to Captain Cuttlefish, who was waiting with other weapons, and subweapons. Then Three got a glorious idea.

She launched into a small superjump, returning to her humanoid state and tossing her phone at the Captain.

"Captain! Calamari Inkantation!"

The Captain nodded, whipped out the set of speakers that Three had insisted on bringing, and blasts the song at full volume.

Now the Octoling was stunned, and here was her chance. She moved as fast as she could, sliding right next to the Octoling, aiming her hero shot directly at her head. But just before she could pull the trigger and Splat her assailant, something else came in, something that made Agent 3's ink curdle.

The ink that began to flood the area was… revolting. It didn't look or feel natural. It made Agent 3, the stoic, never failing, always badass Agent, nearly vomit on the spot. It acted somewhat like ink but the smell was horrid, and it had this faint glow like it was almost alive. Fortunately it seemed there wasn't enough to splat her and she was able to ink the ground around her so she would be safe from it.

Then she turned, and the Octoling was gone, and worse yet, so was the Captain.

"Fuck" she said, trying to find out what happened. Then her shoe clacks against something on the ground, she looks down to inspect what she hit. It looked like a… pair of sunglasses?

Wait, that's what all the Octolings 3 has ever fought were always wearing, could that be how DJ Octavio kept control of his army? Well at least the Octolings, the Octarians seemed pretty content to just fire at any Inkling who got near without those shades.

Agent 3 sighed, maybe there was hope for that Octoling, and maybe hope for the Captain as well.

The more Agent 3 found out about Kamabo, the more Agent 3 wished she hadn't woken up that day.

She had, however, somehow managed to steal a bit of their tech. It was advanced, made almost no sense, and yet was stupidly easy to use. Agent 3 was able to use her, what was it called? CQ-80 to find her way around the entire facility.

But one thing 3 absolutely hated, was every single enemy she faced. They all looked like they were sapped of any life except their knowledge of fighting. Any Octoling she came across looked nearly lifeless, kind of like how 3 would look if she stayed up all night instead of sleeping, but multiplied by like, six years.

3 had found out, thanks to the CQ-80 she stole, that everything here had been "Sanitized" - Cleansed of free will, and made to live a life of nothing but slavery. 3 assumed that these Octolings were well beyond even the help of the Calamari Inkantation, magic a song as it may be, the Octolings under DJ Octavio were merely brainwashed, not… _cleansed._

Agent 3 didn't know how long she was there, but she was beginning to worry as she'd heard nothing from the Captain, and it felt like it had been days, maybe weeks, maybe months. Agent 3 had all but lost track of time, never getting more than a few moments to rest before needing to keep moving, there were patrols everywhere.

Then, a glimmer of hope, and a slight cause for concern. Her CQ-80 lit up with a distress signal! And she wasn't far!

Agent 3 hoped she had time, she slid down the nearest ledge, and towards the source of the signal, man it was down FAR. Agent 3 didn't see much, but she did see the Captain, he was with another figure she couldn't make out at the speed she was going, but what she could make out wa- JESUS FUCK IS THAT A GIANT ASS BLENDER?

She didn't even bother trying to slow down, all she did was angle herself towards it before she reached the end of the slope she was sliding down, and now she was free-falling towards a glass pane that was between her and the blender. Maybe at this speed she could knock it over and save the Captain, gods know Callie and Marie would never speak to her again if she let their grandfather turn into a smoothie.

Well it worked, but the last thing Agent 3 saw was a telephone swinging at her face, and then black.

She didn't know what happened next.

When next Agent 3 was conscious, she couldn't see anything, her body felt like it was moving against her will, and there was a searing pain across her face. She wanted to do nothing else but scream. Gods it felt like her face was on fire, but worse.

Then suddenly, the pain was gone, Agent 3 could see the vague figure of _someone_ but their body just shut down, Three was surprised the pain didn't cause her to just have a heart attack and die.

When Agent 3 woke again, her first thought was "Wow it's windy"

Her next thought was "Oh hey there's an Octoling looking at me, kinda cute when they're not trying to kill me."  
And then her thought was "Agent 3 what the fuck is wrong with you"

Then the Octoling smiled at her.

Agent 3 couldn't help but blush a little. What had once been her adversary was now… standing next to her, smiling at her, and… oh my gods her eyes are beautiful.

"Ah Agent 3!" The Captain beconned her. "Welcome back!"

Agent 3 smiled up at the old man. "Hey Cap'n, what happened? My head hurts, and… is that a statue covered in ink?"

"It's a long story, but to make it short, this here Octoling just saved the world. Agent 3, I'd like you to officially meet Agent 8 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon."

Agent 3 looks over at Agent 8, while 3 did have some apprehensions about letting an Octoling into the agency, if they saved the world then that made her alright in 3's eyes.

Speaking of eyes.

"F-fuck, what's wrong with my eye? It hurts like hell and I can barely see out of it!"

"Oh dear, I was afraid of that. You had a bit of that nasty goop on your face, made you attack poor Agent 8 over there! I'm glad she was able to shoot it off you!"

Agent 3's pupils shrink.

"Th-the ink… I-I was _sanitized?_"

"Get some rest Agent 3, the mission is over for now. I'll call you up should anything happen"

Agent 3 did not get any rest.


	2. 1-2 Well this is horrible

Agent 3 hadn't had a decent sleep since before Kamabo.

Any time she tried to lay down, her memory flashed with scenes of what she went through. Every waking moment spent just trying to survive. The patrols that were merciless. Every single time she tried to sleep, her dreams were filled with nightmares of how she could have failed even worse than she felt she already had.

Three spent many hours quietly sobbing on her bed, wishing everything would just go away so she could sleep. Her eyes had bags under them and she hasn't changed out of her PJ's since she returned home. Three struggled to eat, not trusting herself with any of her pots or pans. She outright threw her blender out her window in a fit of rage, however that was unrelated to her hunger.

Every time she looked in the mirror, she was reminded of how she had failed. How she nearly caused the destruction of the world, and worst of all, her friends. She had a nasty blue-green scar right across her face and around her right eye. It was disgusting. It had changed her right eye to a similar blue-green and she could swear it still had a faint glow to it. Her scar was most visible across her face, but a small part of it was also on her right tentacle, the part that wasn't protected by her Hero Headset. But worst of all, the scar still hurt. It would flare up at random, feeling like a hot iron was being slammed into her face.

She would be fine and then suddenly she'd be screaming in agony as the scar flared up, it hurt like hell and Three could do nothing else but cry and scream any time it flared. She'd claw at her eye in desperate attempts to make it stop, but it only made the pain worse. Any time it flared up, she would opt to just curl into a ball, scream, and let her tears flow down her face. The pain was unbearable and she could do nothing else but wait it out any time an attack came on.

Any time she thought she was about to finally get a decent sleep, the searing pain would return. But every time it did, she was almost grateful. She deserved this, she FAILED. Or so she would tell herself. Say nothing of almost splatting Captain Cuttlefish and Agent 8, she had failed to protect herself. She let herself get infected with that disgusting sanitization ink. Every moment Three spent awake, she reminded herself that she had to be BETTER.

She couldn't let herself fail again.

She had too much to lose.

Over the next 14 days following the events of Kamabo, Three would repeat this process day in and day out. She was able to get 3 hours of sleep a night if she was lucky, and those 3 hours were often marred with horrible nightmares, visions of everything she went through while just trying to survive. Sometimes, she even had nightmares of failing to reach the blender in time, or of being completely sanitized and never able to be free again. Nightmares that scarred her almost as bad as the mark across her face.

Right now however, Three had a rare dry spell, her face didn't hurt and her mind was relatively clear, but the one thing she felt at this moment, was loneliness. Sure she wished her scar would stop acting up, or that her nightmares would leave her alone. But what Three desperately wanted more than anything, in this very moment, was a hug from one of her friends.

As if being summoned by her grief, Three's phone lit up and a loud "DING" can be heard, signifying she's received a message. Three quickly grabs at her phone that she had left sitting on her bedside table and sees who messaged her.

"Marie!" Three says quietly, whilst silently celebrating. She quickly wipes her face of any stray tears, takes a few deep breaths, then unlocks her phone ands navigates to her messages.

Three can't help but smile as she's reminded of the old days when she sees the profile photo she set for Marie, it was of her and Callie drawing a mustache on her while she was asleep. Oh, that was a good time, until she woke up and got her charger that is. Eh it was still a good time because afterwards they were all laughing about it. Three shrugged off her nostalgia for the time being, and actually opened the message Marie had sent her.

Marie: "Yo 3, it's been a hot minute. Gramps said you needed some rest after your last mission so we let you be for a few days, but we miss you! Come on down to Octo Canyon when you get the chance, we'll be here all day!"

Agent 3: "Hey that sounds like it'd do me some good! I've been missing you guys too. Lemme just have a quick shower then I'll head over, I smell like yesterday's lunch"

Marie: "When don't you Agent 3?"

Three rolled her eyes, got up from her bed, and made her way to her bathroom.

She let out a deep sigh, entered the room, and flicked on the light. Once again, just like every time she entered her bathroom, staring back at her from her mirror was the one thing she hated. Herself.

She use to love her scars. They'd tell stories of an Inkling who was dangerous, not afraid to take risks. She had scars from her earlier battles that had all but faded, and scars from more recent battles that were fresh and calloused. But one scar, the aqua coloured marking across her face, was different. It said nothing other than "Failure", and she hated being reminded of her shortcomings.

She stood looking at herself in the mirror for a few minutes, examining every inch of her own body. She had scars all down her arms from her missions, as well as on her legs. No doubt she'd see scars across her chest and back as well were those parts of her not hidden by her shirt. And finally, there was a small birthmark just under her chin, it was barely noticeable, but if you knew it was there it was nigh impossible to miss. It didn't have much shape, but if you squinted a little bit, it sort of looked like an Inkling in squid form.

Three took in a deep breath, turned away from the mirror, and towards her shower. She slowly slipped off her shirt, kicking it to the side so it wouldn't be in the way when she got out, and then slowly slid off her shorts as well before stepping into the shower and turning on the water. She took a moment to just enjoy being under the deluge of water, allowing it to mist over her body. She could practically feel her muscles relax as the water slowly got hotter until it was the perfect temperature. Finally, she sighed and got to the act of making herself not smell anymore.

Contrary to what Marie would have you believe, Agent 3 did, in fact, own soap. It was nearly 6 months old and had only been used once but that's beside the point, Agent 3 does own soap. And Three decided now was as good a time as any to use it again. She puts some on her hands and gets to work making her body smell like flowers or whatever the scent of the soap she bought ages ago smelled like. She doesn't take too much care as she does however, she doesn't want to seem like she put TOO much effort into herself. Not that she ever did.

She spent a long time in the shower, but only about an eighth of it was actually washing herself. The rest was spent trying racking her brain, trying to figure out how she could have done better. How she could have saved them without risking their lives. Or without nearly killing them herself.

Maybe if she had aimed lower on the blender the Phone wouldn't have hit her (Which Captain Cuttlefish had explained was the reason for the whole existence of Kamabo).

Or maybe if she had kept closer to the Captain she wouldn't have lost him at all. Maybe she could've helped him and Eight escape without whatever lead up to them being trapped in a blender. Maybe she could've gotten to know her instead of getting brainwashed and trying to kill her.

Agent 3 didn't know what she could've done for sure, but she knows that what she had done lead to failure. She'd gotten her mind taken over, and before that she'd allowed herself to be separated from the Cap'n. She wasn't sure which injustice she was more upset at herself with, primarily because her being brainwashed had lead to his, and Eight's, lives being in mortal jeopardy. Which by extension, apparently, meant the entire world was on the line. Talk about high stakes.

Deciding to give up on trying to go back in time and fix everything, She steps out of the shower. Grabbing a towel three goes about the process of drying herself off. She starts with her tentacles on the top of her head, making sure to be gentle on the damaged area on her right side as well as around her suction cups. She then dries off her torso, back, and arms. Being much less careful than she was with her tentacles, opting for a more 'get dry quick scheme'. Finally she dries off her legs and her feet, so she won't track water onto the carpet in her bedroom. She hangs the towel back on the rack so it can dry, and returns to her bedroom to get dressed.

She hadn't touched her Hero outfit since the incident, but she figured if she was going to Octo Canyon, she may as well be ready for anything. She carefully slides on some underwear before grabbing her shorts and putting them on. She then slides on a pair of ankle socks, making sure they don't get bunched up. She then slips her arms through her undershirt of choice, a simple tank top. Finally she puts on her jacket and zips it up, then puts the safety vest on overtop. Once her jacket and vest are securely in place, she grabs her cape and attaches it to the collar of her jacket so it's secure.

She reaches for her hero headset before realizing it hasn't been repaired yet. The goop that had taken over her mind had done a number on them and she'd need a replacement set, or maybe these ones could be fixed. Three decides to bring them along, worst case they end up in the trash. On her way out she stops by her door to slide on her hero shoes, tightening them down so they're snug. Once she's satisfied that they won't come flying off if she takes a step slightly too fast, she grabs her keys and heads out her door.

Locking up her apartment behind her, Agent 3 makes her way towards the roof of the building, pushing her way through the door at the top of the stairwell. There's a one foot tall ledge around the entire roof, making it less likely for Inklings or Octolings to fall off by accident. The roof itself is mostly solid concrete, not very nice to walk on for long periods of time, but it's held up for all the years Three has lived there. But there was a reason she came up here, and upon spotting the launchpad she walks over to it, quickly puts "Inkopolis Square" into the keypad, and hits enter.

The launchpad stops for a second, then changes to her natural ink colour of Orange and flashes twice, indicating it's ready for launch. Three takes in a deep breath, slips into squid form, then swims into the middle of the launchpad. Within a few short seconds, she's sent rocketing through the air at blistering speeds.

Agent 3 was glad the superjumps were quick, she didn't need more time lost in her own thoughts. But for the few moments she spends flying through the air, she's able to breathe the fresh air and enjoy the cool late afternoon air. She allows herself this one moment of bliss, refusing to let her mind wander anywhere but the feeling of freedom she has as the wind rushes past.

After a few short seconds, Three lands in Inkopolis. She took a quick look around for the entrance to Octo Canyon, and sure enough she spotted it right next to AmmoKnights. It was disguised as a sewer grate, so no one who didn't know what it was would ever think to swim through it. And anyone who DID swim through it, for example, Three in a few short moments, was shrugged off as some adventure seeking fool. Which, to be fair, she kinda was.

Three walks over to the grate, takes a glance to the sides just to make sure no one is watching her too intently, and finally jumps in. When she emerges on the other side, she's greeted by some familiar faces which, for the first time in 14 days, brings a warm smile to Agent 3's face.

Callie is the first to notice, as she would, she's wearing her agent uniform but without the safety vest and without the shades either. That's strange, Callie was ALWAYS trying to find a fresh new pair of shades. She once spent an entire day just looking at one sunglasses stand!

"THREEEEEEEEEEEE!" Callie squeals whilst running towards Three "IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIIINNN!"

"Ack!" Three yelps as callie knocks her to the ground in the single most aggressive hug Three has ever experienced. And that's saying something, because tackling was basically the ONLY way Callie would hug someone.

"Hey three! Good to see you!" Marie calls, waving whilst not assaulting her like Callie had, opting to instead more casually walk over to where Three is. Marie has on her Kimono, with her umbrella tucked neatly under her arm, the look on her face is one of relief, and a little bit of amusement.

Then Agent 3 spots… her.

The Octoling that had somehow beaten her in single combat, then went on to save the entire world from a psychotic telephone, all whilst wearing HEELS? Colour 3 impressed, she could hardly walk in the damn things.

"Callie, you know I love you, but I need to breathe!" Three squawks, clearly distressed from being knocked to the ground.

"OOPS! Sorry three! I'm just so excited to see you again!" Callie blushes and climbs off of Three, offering her arm to help Three stand back up.

"Geez callie you say that like it's been years!" Three chuckles, as she takes Callie's arm and hoists herself up, not realizing the truth in her own statement.

Without hesitation, Marie simply states. "It has"

What

"Y-years? H-how long…"

"Well, a little under 2 years to be exact" Marie states matter-of-factly.

What Marie hadn't expected, was Three's expression to change from playful banter to horrified remorse. Three's eyes went wide as her brain re-played every moment she could remember. Every single sanitized octarian, every single time that she thought she'd found a safe place to rest, only to be found again and have to keep running.

"Oh my gods, oh I am so sorry." Three's breaths are shallow and shaky, her hearts unstable and her eyes showing the first signs of tearing up.

"Hey," Callie called "Why are you sorry? You kept Gramps safe, and you even helped recruit an Octoling! You did good Three."

"T-two years." Three falls to her knees, her fists pressed against her forehead as she struggles to maintain her composure. "The days just all merged together down there, I don- I can't remember how many days I spent just trying to _find_ him. How many days I spent just trying to survive… I-I'm so sorry, I failed."

Having clearly had enough, Marie kneels down next to Three, and rests her hand on her shoulder. "You did not fail, your quick thinking in the heat of battle lead to another freed Octoling. Agent 8 over there was the Octoling you were battling before you and gramps got seperated, you thought to use our song, and that freed her. She then went on to save all of us thanks to that. You are a HERO Agent 3."

"But I'm not. I nearly let them get killed, not splatted, _killed._ And then as if to mock my inability to be better, I get sanitized and nearly kill them myself!" Tears start to stream down her face, her entire form shaking as she succumbs to her emotions.

"I-I hate myself. I failed. And this disgusting scar across my face is the FUCKING PROOF!" More tears roll down Agent 3's face, Neither Callie, nor Marie, know how to respond, having never seen Three even remotely this emotional before.

Agent 8, however, calmly walks over, kneels down to be next to Agent 3, places her own hand on Three's shoulder, and looks her dead in the eyes and says:  
"You saved me, and it was a privilege to do the same for you. Don't you dare call yourself a failure, when you're the only reason I'm even standing here right now and not back in _his_ army."

Agent 3 is able to regain some of her composure, sniffling and feeling her hearts flutter slightly. This time, though, her emotions are swinging towards the positive. Once again, just like the first time she had seen the Octoling smiling at her, Three finds herself blushing, the Octoling kneeling so close to her, she can see her face perfectly, her eyes like the stars, mysterious, and beautiful.

"Y-your eyes are be-" But Agent 3 is cut off by the return of the searing pain across her scar.

Agent 3 quickly clutches at her face and lets out a blood curdling scream, the pain just as real as it was when she was being controlled. She screamed louder, begging someone, anyone, to make the pain stop.

No one could.


	3. 1-3 Emotions are dumb

Agent 3 couldn't believe herself. She had let her guard down and had a fucking breakdown in front of her friends! She hated the fact that she had cried, the fact that she had _shown weakness._

Agent 3 vowed it would never happen again. She couldn't handle being weak, she had to be stronger. She had to be better.

Aside from the whole "doubling over in excruciating pain" and "having an emotional breakdown" however, the meetup actually went pretty well. Callie and Marie both insisted Three go see a therapist, something about needing to work through her trauma with someone trained to handle it.

The only reason Three agreed was because it might help prevent another breakdown, which was her end goal anyways, and she was willing to do just about anything to get there.

Apparently Agent 8 had been going to one as well, Agent 3 had to ask why because she had literally no idea what Eight went through. Upon finding out, Three was even MORE disgusted with Kamabo. The whole test facility? And not to mention the fact that if they gathered the "thangs" (it annoyed her to no end that it was spelled with an "A") it assembled a giant blender that melted the test subject down and then mixed their essence into that awful goop.

So yeah Agent 8 had some shit to work through too.

Agent 3 had also gone to a regular doctor to see if anything could be done about her scar, or at least about the pain it caused. She didn't really have much hope, it was caused by some freak of science and the best she could really hope for was maybe some painkillers to keep from being unable to function when an attack flared up. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything they could do for her. She just had to suffer through the pain.

Part of her wondered if it was partially psychological, the pain was way too similar to when the sanitization goop was actually on her face. But then again, it had seeped in past the skin layer.

What if it was still trying to take control of her?

Agent 3 shrugged that thought off as quickly as it came in. No way in HELL was she letting it take over her again. Her friends meant too much to her to let it happen again. She would sooner splat herself with all spawn points out than let herself be someone's puppet again.

Now Agent 3 was just laying on her bed, her shirt long since discarded but her pants were still on for whatever reason. She stared up at the ceiling and her mind kept jumping from thought to thought. Sometimes she'd think about back when she saved the Great Zapfish from Octavio. Sometimes her mind would wander into the events that lead her to Kamabo. Sometimes, all she could think about was Kamabo. Three let out a loud sigh.

"This fucking sucks." She took in a deep breath, then glanced over to her bedside table. "and I still need to buy a new alarm clock"

Her thoughts didn't linger on her current Alarm Clock situation for very long. Her first visit with the Therapist had gone… well she didn't throw him nor herself out the window so it's a start. He'd given her some advice, whenever she finds herself starting to fall into another depressive episode, focus on the good memories you can find in your mind. She was told it may not prevent the depressive episode, but would at least soften the blow a little.

And here she was, slipping into a depressive episode again.

Agent 3 tried to focus on the good memories she has, but her mind kept wandering back to Kamabo. Always Kamabo. So instead she tried to at least focus on remembering the least-terrible parts of Kamabo.

Their tech was cool, could probably be incorporated into the NSBS pretty well if they put the effort in. She'd gotten to meet Off the Hook properly, instead of just an interrogation like the first time she'd met Marina. (Long story, but as effectively a public figure who used to be part of Octavio's army, questions needed to be asked). Pearl was nice, her voice was destroyed but she was nice. Marina held no ill-will towards Three for the whole interrogation which she was grateful for. Marina understood why it had to be done, sure, but Three had maybe been a bit… intense during it. So to actually talk to her like a PERSON rather than barrage her with questions like a war prisoner was nice.

And then there was the new girl, Agent 8. Gods thinking about her always made Three a little flustered. And she hardly knew the damn girl! To be fair, Eight hardly knew anything about herself either. Amnesia's a hell of a drug. Three had considered getting to know Eight a little better, finding out what she liked, maybe going to see like, a movie or something. But every time she tried to muster up the courage to talk to her, even over text, she could never bring herself to hit "send"

To distract herself, Three decided to whip out her phone and try texting Eight again. She opened up her messages app, and tried thinking of a good opening line. Everything was wrong. Nothing was good enough. Hello was too formal, hey was too casual. 'Sup made her sound like some kind of surfer dude. Three racked her brain, trying to come up with some way to just say "Hi" without being laden with anxiety.

"Gods why is this so DIFFICULT!" She locked her phone and tossed it to the side of the bed she wasn't laying on. "I hardly know her! Asking her to go get coffee should be EASY!"

She rolled over onto her side, it was maybe 4:30pm at the latest. She felt her face warming as she thought about the Octoling that had previously tried to kill her, and then went on to save the world. How her face was beautifully rounded, her ears too came to a rounded end instead of a point like the Inklings. Her tentacles were tucked neatly into a ponytail at the back of her head, and two smaller ones flanked the front of her face. And then there was her smile, dear gods that smile was infectious. Even just thinking about it made Three's own face go from a stubborn frown to a gentle grin.

However, she wasn't able to stew with her thoughts for very long as her phone lit up and made a nice loud "DING" indicating someone had messaged her. Agent 3 let out a sigh, reached over to her phone, and decided to see who it was and what they wanted.

"Oh it's Marie again, I wonder what she wants now."

* * *

Marie: Hey 3! I know it's only been like, three days since that whole fiasco but I thought I'd check in. You've been kinda quiet and we're worried about you. Callie wanted to bake you a cake to try and cheer you up but I think she set our oven on fire… again.

That made her chuckle a little bit, oh Callie, never change.

Agent 3: All things considered I'm fine I guess, saw the therapist yesterday like you told me to, he seems nice. Also tell Callie I appreciate the thought.

Marie: Well that's good to hear. Oh, last time you were here we never got the chance to introduce you to Agent 4! You'll like her, she's a lot like you. Except she owns soap ;)

Agent 3: Haha fuck you Marie, I DO own soap. But yeah I was meaning to ask what the big crack in Octavio's snowglobe was about, I assume that's what lead to the recruitment of a new agent?

Marie: Yeah, also Callie being kidnapped, and the great zapfish… again.

Three had to take a pause, the Great Zapfish was stolen, AGAIN? She steps away for 2 years and the whole world goes to shit.

Agent 3: Wow, well she must be pretty skilled if she stopped Octavio, we both know he would've upped his game since his fight with me, so props to her.

Marie: That's the best part, HE DIDN'T! He used the SAME strategy! The damn thing even still had fists!

Now Agent 3 was chuckling to herself. Octavio, the brilliant military leader… re-used a failed strategy.

Agent 3: Wow, W O W, wow. I can't, he seriously did the same thing a second time.

Marie: Yeah, but now that you and gramps are back, he's taking care of looking after Octavio, so Callie, 4, and I are all kinda stuck with too much time.

Agent 3: You and Callie are international celebrities and you have nothing to do? Can't you just like, go out and fuck some fans knowing no one will ever believe them?

Marie: AGENT THREE I AM APPALLED!

Agent 3: … Callie did it tho.

Marie: Callie di- hold on, I'm gonna be cousinless in about five seconds.

Agent 3: Oh fuck, she fucked now.

Agent 3: It was totally with me tho

Marie: I swear to god 3, if you aren't joking I am going to come over there and rip your head off its shoulders right after I'm done ripping Callie's off hers.

Agent 3: Do it, give me the sweet embrace of death. Besides how would you even know where I live? I never showed you.

* * *

Agent 3 chuckled to herself. Oh Marie, you're too easy to get a rise out of. Agent 3 then decided that while her bed was comfortable, her stomach screaming about not having food was not. She'd have to tease her friends later.

She made her way out of her bedroom, snagging her discarded shirt and putting it back on, and enters her kitchen. The kitchen was by no means massive, however for just her, it did seem fairly big. Several drawers were left almost empty, and several cupboards actually WERE empty, but she was never short on food. She just didn't need as much space as she had. One of the perks of the Squid Sisters being part of the agency, their agents were never going to want for basic needs.

Agent 3 sighed to herself, did she want a proper meal, or did she want to make food that she'd throw in her microwave for 2 minutes that might give her cancer. She figured cancer couldn't be worse than what was going on with her face, so she opted for the microwave food. Okay, the real reason was because she was tired and didn't trust herself with a frying pan because of how tired she was.

Three grabs some frozen pizza snacks out of her freezer, removes the plastic, then throws them on a plate and into the microwave.

"Fuckin hell my life is a mess." she laughed to herself. "What am I gonna do when I run out of these frozen pizza things? I'm gonna starve that's what."

The microwave beeps aggressively, she pulls the food out, using a cloth between her hand and the plate cuz microwaves loved to make plates hotter than the food on them, and sets the plate down on the table. Once Agent 3 has the Microwave door closed back up, she sits down in front of her meal and sighs to herself.

"These damn things are gonna become a genuine part of me at this point, I'm gonna be like 20% frozen pizza snack" she rolls her eyes at herself before eating her meal, if you can even call it a meal.

Once she's done, she takes the plate over to the sink and rinses it off, then places the plate on the bottom rack of her dishwasher. Just then, Agent 3 heard a knock on her door.

"That's odd, no one buzzed in, and I'm not expecting anyone."

She walks over to her door, looked through the peephole, and saw the single most terrifying thing she has ever seen in her life.

Marie, standing there, smiling.

"Oh fuck, now it's MY turn to be dead" She said quietly to herself.

Agent 3 kept the chain on the door as she slowly opened it.

"Hello?"

"Hi Agent 3? Can we uh, chat for a minute?"

Three audibly gulped, but reluctantly, she closed the door, unhooked the chain, and then allowed Marie into her apartment.

Marie walked in, placed her hand firmly on Agent 3's shoulder, then sucker punched her right in the gut.

Agent 3 collapsed onto the floor coughing, the wind knocked right out of her. It takes her a few moments to get her barrings back, but once she has a moment to breathe again, she takes in a few deep breaths to restore oxygen to her entire body.

"Ah fuck, thank god I don't have bones or you'd have broken a rib!" Agent 3 slowly sat up on the floor, and looked up at Marie, who looked like she was readying for another blow. Three threw her hands up in protest. "Okay! Okay, I probably deserved that one, I take it you reamed out Callie already?"

"Seriously? You two… and you NEVER told me?!"

Agent 3 lets out a nervous laugh and rubs her neck "Well it's not exactly something you bring up in a normal chat!"

Marie rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I can't believe you." she sighed.

"Hey! I was young and stupid, and Callie was, and still is, fuckin hot as hell."

Marie shot her a look that made Agent 3's mouth seal right up.

"Callie wouldn't tell me WHY you two did… that. So now I have to ask you. And I WILL know if you're lying, I know you incredibly well Agent 3."

"Okay okay, but can we sit on my couch at least? The floor isn't exactly nice to sit on."

"Fine, but don't waste any more time."

Once they're seated across from each other, Agent 3 takes in a deep breath, then looks Marie dead in the eyes.

"So, here's the long and the short of it."


	4. 1-4 Finally some answers

Marie couldn't believe what she was hearing, primarily how DETAILED Agent 3's description of the events were. Like, she knew her memory was good, that's what lead her to being such a good field agent, but goddamn.

"-yeah so that's what went down." Three awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, her face practically bright orange from having recalled the events that transpired between her and Callie such a long time ago.

Marie looked at Agent 3 through her blush, and had to pause for a moment to compose herself. She takes in a deep breath and tries to calm herself, though the green tint doesn't completely leave her face, it does fade slightly.

"Alright alright, you've answered pretty much all of my questions… but you still didn't answer the first question, WHY did you two… get it on."

Agent 3's blush deepened "Well… to be honest, after I rescued the Great Zapfish from Octavio, and Cap'n Cuttlefish informed me that the events had to be kept secret, Callie felt bad that I did all that work for effectively nothing… so she made the offer. Me being the young horny dumbass I was, agreed without thinking."

Marie paused, and started stroking her chin as she considered the information that had just been presented to her.

"So she did that as a reward for saving Inkopolis? Interesting."

"What's interesting?"

"Oh nothing, I just… I don't know I guess I didn't expect that to be her take. I'd have expected her to give you VIP tickets to one of our concerts, maybe like, a great big sum of money… or something along those lines." Marie shrugged as she finally was able to get herself composed, no longer blushing as her thoughts had moved past the events that Three had begrudgingly but so accurately described for her.

"She tried after, but I told her she'd done more than enough. Honestly a lot of what I know about myself now came from that… event." Three's blush was mostly under control, however there was still a slight tint of orange on her cheeks.

"So you've said, man I didn't know she was into half of those things." Marie prattled idly.

"... why would that matter to you? Her cousin?" Three's eyebrow raised slightly in suspicion.

"Ah, sorry, that's my secret agent side kicking in, I like to know as much as I can about anyone I'm close to, so should they turn against me, I know their weaknesses, and should they need my help, I know where to support." Marie again shrugged as she gave her explanation, her mind now trying to find the right way to end the conversation.

"Hmm, I guess that sorta makes sense. I'm not gonna ask how sexual support would work though." Three smirks and winks at Marie eliciting an eye roll and a scoff from the pop star secret agent.

"Oh my GOD 3 you are terrible." Marie chuckled slightly as she stood up from the couch, believing the conversation to be winding to a close.

"Says the one who walked into my apartment and immediately assaulted me."

Marie opens her mouth to protest, but finds no words of protest exist for such a comeback.

"Fine, you win, dumbass." Marie smirked and rolled her eyes.

"Be nice Marie, you know I'm only playing cuz you're my friend. If I didn't like you I'd have either splatted you for showing up unannounced or ripped your arms off!" Three chuckles to herself slightly.

"HAH, I'd like to see you try." Marie retorts, gesturing to the charger she had left by the front door of Three's apartment.

"Eh, some other time maybe. I need to get to bed soon." Three idly gestures towards her bedroom, not even glancing at the clock, or the fact that there was still sun bleeding in through her windows.

"Bed? But it's only 5pm!" Marie scoffed, shocked at how early Three said she'd be going to bed.

"Yep, with the way _this-"_ Agent 3 points to the scar across her face "likes to flare up, I'm lucky if I get 3 hours of sleep a night, so I've started going to bed earlier to counteract it."

Marie was now faced with the fact that her friend whom she cares deeply about has a condition that makes it so difficult to sleep that she's going to bed around the time she'd be making dinner. She was also faced with the fact that Three lives with the debilitating pain that makes it so she can't do anything but scream… and she had just waltzed into her apartment and sucker punched her for an event that happened nearly three years ago.

"Oh my gods Three, I am so sorry. I had no idea…" Marie's expression dropped and there was deep remorse in her eyes. She would undo everything that had just happened if she could, but she's dug her own grave now.

"Eh, don't be. It's my life now, I gotta deal with it." Three shrugs, clearly something is still bothering her but she's not saying.

Marie just frowned.

"That's not good Three. You should seriously get help for that if it's causing you so much pain."

Agent 3 let out a defeated sigh. "I tried, no one can help. The doctor's don't know what's going on so they can't prescribe anything. I'm on my own. Just like Kamabo. Just like always. It's me against the universe, and the universe bit back hard with this one."

"Okay well… please remember that if you need anything, Callie and I are here." Marie paused, placing her hand on Three's shoulder then turning to leave.

"Just don't ask for any… rewards." Marie smirked before snagging her charger and finally getting ready to head out, Agent 3 rolled her eyes.

"It was one time Marie, I don't even _like_ Callie that way." In a cruel twist of fate, in that exact moment Agent 3 felt her scar act up again, gods the pain was nearly unbearable. But she vowed not to break down in front of her friends again, so she resisted the urge to clutch her face, but that didn't stop the affected eye from twitching slightly.

Marie was about to leave but she turned to face Three one last time before she did so, and all she could see was the pain in her eyes, the twitching right eye, and the tears welling within both.

"A-are you alright Three? Your eye is twitching like mad right now." Marie set her charger back down and turning to face Three properly.

"Oh, y-yeah, the scar is a-acting up again." Agent 3 could feel the tears starting to form, the pain searing through her face like someone decided to kick her with a boot that had red hot nails on it. "It's f-fine, I j-just n-need to lay d-down."

"Agent 3. Please." Marie wanted to reach out, to comfort her friend, but she could tell that Three didn't want that. Three wanted to be strong. Marie just wanted to help her friend.

"S-seriously, I'm g-good. Just l-leave so I can deal with this, please." The tears are starting to roll down Three's cheeks, she's clenching her teeth together hard trying to bear the pain without screaming out.

Reluctantly, Marie picks up her charger again, and turns to the door. Before she passes through it however, she has one last thing she wants to say to Three. One last thing born out of the desire to help her friend, as well as the frustration of not being able to.

"Shutting us out won't help it go away, it'll just make it worse."

With an audible *click* the door was closed and Marie was on the other side.

Once she can no longer see Marie, Three immediately falls to her knees, grabs the side of her face that was affected, and she screamed. She let everything out, she just wails in agony, wishing her pain would stop. Three hears her door click again but the pain makes the world go black before she can see why.

The next morning, Agent 3 awoke in her bed, feeling slightly more rested than usual, as though she hadn't been woken by agonizing pain every 3 minutes. She also feels some odd pressure on her affected eye, and finds even when opened she can't see anything out of it, just black. Also it's incredibly cold on that half of her face.

So. Agent 3 brings her hand up to check and finds an… ice bag?

Agent 3 didn't know if she even owned one of these, and even if she did, she definitely didn't put it on her face herself. so how did…

"Feeling better?" The familiar voice of her fellow agent as well as pop singer Marie called.

"H-how did you?.." Three calls in confusion, her brain still running at quarter speed due to just having woken up.

"That scream wasn't exactly quiet, and you didn't lock your door after I exited… also you passed out on the floor."

"Fuck my entire life."

Marie rolled her eyes. "Oh relax, you're fine."

Three couldn't bring herself to meet Marie's gaze. She felt embarrassed. Though she was grateful for the fact that her friend had cared enough to take care of her, she wished she hadn't needed it.

Marie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Always the drama queen, you'll be fine honestly. I'm going to get a sample of that… I hesitate to call it ink. The stuff they use in Kamabo. I'm going to run some tests on it, see if I can't find something that'll at least help the pain."

Agent 3's ears perked up at that, her mind flashing images of all of her friend with that disgusting ink on their faces. "Oh my gods."

"What?"

"Do NOT let it touch you. EVER. And ESPECIALLY do not let it touch your face. If it can access your brain, it takes over. It only took a little bit for it to seize control of me." Three's worry is painted so plainly across her face she may as well be wearing a shirt that says "I am worried"

Marie sighed again as she stood up to leave.

"I'll be careful, trust me." Marie paused, she clenches her fist and chokes back a sob that goes unnoticed by Three. "I just want to be able to help my friend."

With that, Marie left, and 3 again heard the audible *click* of her front door being closed. Marie on the other side of the door takes in a long deep breath. She takes out her phone and navigates to her messages.

* * *

Marie: It is so much worse than we thought

Callie: How so?

Marie: She tried to get me to leave when her scar started flaring just so I wouldn't see her in pain. Also she told me it flares up so often that she's lucky if she gets 3 hours of sleep in a night.

Callie: Oh, damn… Wow.

Marie: Yeah, anyways I'm headed home now. As much as I want to, I can't just stay here to take care of Three forever.

Callie: You assaulted her when you first arrived didn't you.

Marie: I may have knocked the wind out of her yes.

Callie: Marie… I tried to tell you to let a nearly 3 year old event lay to rest!

Marie: An event I am now intimately familiar with thanks to Three's insane memory.

* * *

Marie pocketed her phone and headed for the launchpad on the roof of Three's apartment building. She'd have to make a mental note to visit her more often.

Agent 3 on the other hand was now, once again, alone with her thoughts. Oh how dangerous this is. She stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom with the one eye that wasn't covered by an ice pack, and honestly she was getting tired of how embarrassed she was about the whole situation with Marie from start to finish. So, rather than lay in bed and feel sorry for herself, she decided to take a shower and feel sorry for herself.

She made her way over to her bathroom, switched on the light, and made her way over to her shower. All while still holding the ice bag to the right side of her face. She was able to glance at her reflection in the mirror without feeling like a failure for the first time in a long time. This combined with the actual ice pack was oddly soothing. But once the shower was up to temperature, she knew she'd have to set it down, it wouldn't survive the searing heat she likes her showers at.

Reluctantly, she sets the bag down in the bathroom sink, then looks up at her reflection in the mirror once again, preparing for the worst. Huh, the greenish colouration had gone down quite a bit, the skin layer was still visibly damaged, even without the green, but it looked more like any of her other scars, rather than someone thought boiling paint was a good idea. There was still a little bit of the tint mind you, it was just dramatically reduced. Like someone had turned the opacity of the colour to 10%.

Stepping into the shower and under the (heavily treated) water, Agent 3 felt something she doesn't think she's felt in years. She felt relaxed. For once, her thoughts were of the good times she'd had with Callie and Marie, Cap'n's stories of the great turf war, and how she had always seemed to make her friends smile. That one time she told a joke that was so bad she made Callie's drink come out of her nose she laughed so hard. She felt peace, and calmness.

Then her thoughts turned to… her. Agent 8. Three hardly knew anything about the girl, hell she didn't even know where she was living! But thinking about what she did know was something that brought a faint blush to Agent 3's face. If there was one good thing to come out of Kamabo, it was her.

Three kept going through ways to say hello in her head. She just wanted to get to know her, it shouldn't be so hard. But Three knew why it was so hard. She would never admit it to anyone, she barely even admitted it to herself, but she has the biggest crush on Agent 8.

She just kept picturing her face, the different eye mask that Octolings had suited Eight's rounded face so nicely, and her rounded ears just added to the beauty in Three's eyes. Eight's smile was the first thing Three saw when she came to after Kamabo, and it's been burned into her mind ever since. That smile makes Three blush and causes her hearts to flutter.

The water started to run cold, telling Agent 3 she'd spent enough time lost in her thoughts. She sighed, shut off the water, then exited the shower, grabbing a towel to dry herself off with.

"I-I should get to know the girl." Agent 3 said to no one in particular. "I mean, she saved the world, so at least we have that in common?"

Three is trying to justify things to herself, but it somehow works and she's almost finally ready to try and say hello to the girl she's been crushing on for so long now. But she doesn't quite have the confidence to do it, she needs moral support.

Agent 3 finished drying herself off, then, snatching her phone off its charger, she opened it up to her messages.

* * *

Agent 3: Yo, you free for a sec? I got a question.

Callie: Ye what's up? Did Marie kill you yet?

Agent 3: Yes and no, she stopped by, knocked the wind outta me, then made sure I didn't kill myself when my scar flared up shortly after.

Callie: Yowch, now you see why I told you not to tell her!

Agent 3: It was like what, 3 years ago?! I didn't think she'd react THAT bad!

Callie: Clearly you don't know my cousin. Anyways, what's up? You said you had a question.

Agent 3: Oh yeah fuck. So uh, you know Agent 8 right? Or at least know OF her?

Callie: Ye I do.

Agent 3: Okay so… I'm only telling you this because I trust you…

Agent 3: I kinda maybe have like the worlds biggest crush on her, I think she's cute and I wanna get to know her.

Callie: AHHHHHHHHHH! THAT'S SO ADORABLE!

Agent 3: Starting to regret this

Callie: Sorry sorry. I'm actually just really happy! But uh, why are you telling me this, and not, you know, the girl you have a crush on?

Agent 3: Because I kinda… have a hard time even asking her to go for coffee.

Callie: You WHAT

Agent 3: I just, I need some moral support. I can splat Octarians all day, but talking to someone I low key want to make out with is not something I am use to

Callie: Three. I am going to be very blunt. And only because I love you.

Callie: JUST TALK TO HER. Honestly it's the best course of action, just talk to her and get to know her. You can do it!

Agent 3: Thanks Cal.

* * *

Agent 3 should've known Callie would pull that on her. But still, it did give her a little boost in confidence. She takes in a deep breath and backs out of her conversation with Callie, and then flips open Eight's contact on her phone.

Three glanced up at the blank icon for Eight's contact, she'd have to get a photo of her so she could change it from the faceless squid silhouette.

She shook her head and brought her attention back to the task at hand of trying to talk to Eight without backing out like some sort of emotional wreck.

* * *

Agent 3: Hey, Agent 8 right? Or do you have another name you'd rather be called by? It's me, Agent 3. Sorry we got off to a poor start, I'd like to get to know you properly, you wanna like, go for coffee sometime? I'm free all day.

TheGr8Agent8: Oh, hey! Yeah my memory's all a bit hazy, so you can just call me Eight, it's actually grown on me. And yeah I could do Coffee.

Three couldn't help but laugh at Eight's chosen screen name, it was amazing and she loved it.

Agent 3: Oh sweet! What time are you free?

TheGr8Agent8: Uh, anytime really.

Agent 3: Meet me at Inkopolis square in say, half an hour?

TheGr8Agent8: Sounds like a plan!

* * *

Agent 3 couldn't believe it. It had WORKED! Now, it wasn't a DATE, no, it was just two people with mutual friends trying to bridge the gap. Also Agent 8 was cute as hell. Ah fuck there goes 3's mind again.

Now there was the task at hand of making herself look presentable, and NOT like she had spent the last week in the same clothes. She went over to her dresser, threw open the drawers and tore through her wardrobe.

"Fuck, why do I only own SHIT clothing, basic tees, lame shoes… is that a llama hat? WHY DO I OWN THIS?" Three held the aforementioned llama hat in her hand and tossed it across her room, she didn't want to even look at it.

Finally, after a few minutes, Agent 3 had an outfit she was okay with. A light blue hoodie with an old tank top underneath that would be covered when the hoodie was zipped up, black jeans, black shoes with white laces, and to cap it off, a pair of shades. She looked… presentable.

Before leaving, she grabbed an unopened bottle of fabric odor remover, and quickly sprayed herself with it. Agent 3 let out a small chuckle to herself.

"This is the most care I've had about my appearance since before I became an agent." 3 couldn't help but smile. "Alright, enough reminiscing about the past. Let's go."

With that, Agent 3 pushed through her door, locking it behind her, and made her way up to the roof of her apartment building and set the launchpad to Inkopolis Square.


	5. 1-5 Things go according to plan

With an affirming thud, Three lands in Inkopolis Square. She gives herself a second to make sure she's got her balance, a luxury she didn't have back in Octo Valley or Kamabo, and then makes her way closer to the Battle Lobby, mainly just to get away from the landing zone.

Once she's over by Shella Fresh, she whips out her phone to check the time. Somehow, some way, she's arrived early! About seven minutes early to be precise. Somehow she thought she'd have been late and would've had Eight waiting for her, which would've been highly embarrassing. But she got lucky, so she breathes a sigh of relief.

"Alright well maybe she's here early too, I'll just text her real quick." She navigates to her messages, not wanting to be standing alone in the Square for too long. Mainly because then people might stare and she didn't want that.

* * *

Agent 3: Yo uh, I arrived a little early so whenever you get here I'll be waiting by Shella Fresh, the shoe store nearest the battle lobby.

TheGr8Agent8: Oh! I'm almost there so I'll see you in a sec then!

Agent 3: Cool beans

* * *

"Cool beans? Really? Why did I just say that." Agent 3 slapped her palm into her forehead. "Oh well, at least she's almost here."

As if on cue, the slightly familiar face of the only Octoling she's ever actually talked to comes bounding up to her.

"Hey! Eight!" Three waves getting her attention, and flagging her down so she doesn't run past.

"Oh! Hi three!" She smiled. Oh gods her smile could splat an entire team twice it was so powerful. Eight was wearing an orange tee shirt with a symbol on the front that Three didn't quite recognize, she had a baseball hat on her head with her tentacles sticking out the back of it in a ponytail, and her legs were adorned in a similar pair of jeans to Three, only they seemed slightly newer, slightly cleaner, and a shade of navy blue instead of black. Finally her feet were wrapped in red lace up shoes with white laces that looked like they provided a comfortable fit but wouldn't be a hindrance should one need to start running for their life.

Agent 3 couldn't help but blush a little as she admired the girl in front of her

"S-so. Coffee? I know a good place just around the corner, best iced coffee you will EVER have." Three beams through her faint blush, she was genuinely excited about the coffee place, she'd been going there since she moved to Inkopolis.

"Iced Coffee? I thought coffee was hot." Eight's right eyebrow raises while her left one lowers, and her lips pursed just slightly as the look of moderate confusion on her face becomes as clear as freshly cleaned glass.

"Oh see that's the beauty of iced coffee. It disregards the way you usually think about coffee and makes it a completely new experience!" Agent 3 beamed and Agent 8 couldn't help but blush a little herself. Agent 3 was cute when something excited her.

"Alright, let's go then!" Eight shrugged aside her confusion, Three was happy about it and it was a remarkable improvement from the last time she'd seen her. The scar on her face seems to be faded as well. She happily followed behind Three as she lead the two to Three's chosen coffee shop.

The pair walk over and eight chanced a glance up to the sign as they walked in, it read "Squidbucks" Eight shook her head, Inkling culture was… so bizarre. She'd long since given up trying to understand all the nuances. Either it would just click one day, or it would be lost on her forever.

They walk inside and it's not super busy, but there are a few people waiting in line by the till. Eight and Three quickly join the line and after waiting for a few moments, it was finally their turn to order. Three pipes up first.

"Hi, yeah, uh, I'll just get a medium iced cap, with a shot of vanilla and an extra espresso shot." Three's order seemed… rehearsed. As though she'd said it a million times. Maybe she had. Eight had no idea. Then three turned to her, which caught her off guard slightly. "Yo Eight, what do you want?"

"Oh, uh… I-I guess I'll have the same as you, but without the extra espresso shot, please." Eight wasn't expecting Three to order for her.

Three nodded, turned to the cashier, and informed them of eight's decision. Eight was about to pull out some of the money Pearl had insisted she take with her, but before she even had it in her hand three pulled out some coins and paid for the pairs drinks.

"Alright, it'll take them a bit to make the drinks, iced coffee always takes a minute or so longer cuz they gotta blend up the ice. Let's find somewhere to sit, they'll call us when the drinks are ready." Three smiles and leads them to an empty booth near the window.

Agent 8 blushes a little, but nods. She hadn't expected three to pay for her, hell, she hadn't expected three to be so… nice to her. The last time she saw Three in person she had fallen over in anguish and then curled up in debilitating pain. She worried that given she came out of Kamabo that she might remind Three of whatever it was she went through. Something she feared would make Three apprehensive of her. But 3 didn't do any of those things.

Taking their seats in the booth, eight noticed something about 3 she hadn't noticed before. Just how beautiful she was. While her body was scarred and toned from her constant agent work, there was a subtle softness to her that almost made her glow. Sure the scar across her face wasn't a pleasant reminder, but even still, she loved the way Three looked. She was tough, but in just the right way.

"So, Eight. How are you adjusting to life on the surface?" Three asked plainly, clearly just making smalltalk to pass the time until their order is ready.

"OH!" eight perked up. "It's great up here! The sun is beautiful yet also terrifying. The food is nice, certainly more flavourful than anything we had down in the domes. I like the way the sunset looks a lot."

Three couldn't help but blush a little and smile at eight's enthusiasm. Something about her made Three appreciate everything she was saying, it was like her enthusiasm was rubbing off on her or something.

"So I take it things are going well? OH! Where are you living right now? I'd hope they didn't just toss you out onto the street!" Three chuckles, mentally preparing to stab someone if they had, in fact, left her on her own.

Eight let out a small chuckle, and waves her hands in front of her "No no, I'm staying with Pearl and Marina for now. They kinda helped get me through being underground, kept me motivated, kept me going. So it would only make sense that they want to be there for me now that I am here on the surface."

"Wait wait, you're staying with Off the Hook, in their house? Damn, well I guess you're like, the opposite of living on the street." Three laughed a little again "Well it's good to hear you have a safe place to go home to."

The then barista walks up to the pick up counter and calls out "Order for… Tree and Exit?"

"Oh my god, EVERY TIME!" Three rolls her eyes, then gets up and goes and gets their drinks, returning shortly after. "I swear you come here every day for six years, you'd think they'd learn to say your name right."

Eight giggled.

Three blushed.

Three cleared her throat and set a cup down in front of Eight.

"Here ya go, nice and frosty. Don't drink it too quick, it'll make your head hurt."

Eight thanks three, then takes a sip of her drink as three sits down and does the same.

"Mmmm, it's sweeter than I expected!" Eight calls out with a smile on her face. Three couldn't help but smile back.

"Yeah the frozen coffee's are generally sweeter than the non-frozen ones, if only because they're not also burning your tongue off." Three chuckled to herself as she continued to drink. "So, how's the surface been treating you? Make any friends yet?"

Eight took a moment to swallow the drink she had in her mouth. "Oh a few, mainly the other agents, and Pearl and Marina of course."

Three nods in response. "That's good. What do you think of Callie and Marie?"

"They're cool, Callie seems to like me, but Marie was a little apprehensive at first. But once Cap'n explained everything she was nice."

Three laughed "Yeah that sounds like Marie alright. First to point a charger at you, but also the first to knit you a sweater if she likes you. At least I think she can knit."

Eight giggled as three rubbed her chin.

"What about you three?"

Three was pulled from her thought process abruptly by the question.

"Hm?"

"What, uh, what do you like to do, do you have any friends?"

"Huh, well aside from Callie and Marie I guess not really. I had a few friends back before I became an agent but we fell out of contact. I had a cousin I did almost everything with before I moved to Inkopolis, but they were too young to come with me at the time so I haven't seen them in ages. I guess that's partially why I was so excited to get to know you! You can handle yourself in battle, which I admire, and you seem like you'd be fun to hang out with."

Eight blushed a little at the compliments. "Aw, thank you three."

"But for hobbies? Eh, I usually just play turf wars. Brings in some extra dollars and also allows me to get rid of pent up frustrations. Ranked is fun but honestly I can't stand Clam Blitz so I usually just play turf war to avoid accidentally joining a Clam Blitz match."

Eight giggles again. "Agent Three, the almighty hero who saved the great zapfish and single handedly decimated more than half of DJ Octavio's army… sucks at Clam Blitz"

Now it was Three's turn to blush.

"Sh-shut up. I'm not BAD at it, I just don't LIKE it."

Eight giggled more.

Agent 3 was sinking into her shirt now. Why had she revealed that.

Just then, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see eight resting her hand on her shoulder and looking at her in the eyes.

"Relax, I'm just playing. I don't much care for Clam Blitz either. It's just… It's cute when you're flustered"

Agent 3 paused.

Had eight really just said that? Was she dreaming? Well one thing WAS for sure, she was blushing so hard her entire face was glowing the same orange colour as her ink.

She had to do something to break this uncomfortable silence.

She cleared her throat, gently took eights hand off her shoulder, and returned to her drink.  
"Aha, don't want your iced coffee to melt, then it would just be lukewarm coffee and no one likes that!"

Eight giggled. Three was cute when she was trying to not be flustered, only because it made her MORE flustered.

Eventually though, they both calmed down, and were now talking about strategies for turf wars.

"-So the guy splatted me, but the gear I had on at the time saved almost all of my special charge, so I ink up some turf to get it fully charged up, then I find a teammate who's being attacked by the same clown. I superjump over to them, and about 20 feet in the air I activate my splashdown. What I didn't realize was their ENTIRE TEAM was hiding in the ink waiting to ambush me when I landed. They didn't see what hit them and they were all dizzy after the match. It was great!" Three laughed as she retold the story, Eight smiled seeing three beam with enthusiasm.

"So yeah, if you've got splashdown, try and superjump before activating it, you might catch some enemies off guard."

"I'll keep that in mind." Eight smiled.

"But I see you primarily use the OctoShot 'replica' when you battle" Eight could hear in the tone of three's voice that she knew it was a genuine octoshot, but Sheldon had modded it slightly so that it registered as a regular replica. "And that has the inkjet, honestly I could never really get the hang of that one personally. But it IS a tremendous distraction in ranked. It takes people's attention away from the objective. So you may get a few splats with it sure, but use it primarily to help your team get the upper hand by distracting the rest of the other team."

Eight nodded. She hadn't considered that. But now that she knew, it was going to change how she played.

The two talked for hours. Occasionally, three would offer to buy eight something so they could keep chatting. Eight initially refused, but three kept getting snacks and eight's stomach was starting to feel a little empty.

Eight chanced a look at the clock, my god she'd been here for four hours! The time just seemed to melt away and Three seemed more than happy to be around her. Three's scar acted up once, but it wasn't as bad as before. She had to lay her head on the table but she wasn't screaming in agony.

Three also checked the clock, my god had it really been that long? Well the coffee shop owners weren't upset, three had spent so much of her money there over the years she could probably ask it to be closed down just so her and her friend could keep chatting. But she decided on a different course of action.

"Hey, Eight. We've been here a while, what do you say we go find someplace to get a proper meal?"

Eight beamed, her stomach growled, and three smirked.

"I'll take that as a yes?"

Eight just rolled her eyes as her and three left to find some place to get dinner. Together.


	6. 1-6 Mmmm fooooood

Agent 3 hadn't ever been to a fancy restaurant.

Neither had Agent 8.

Neither of them wanted to either, so they went to a place that was bordering on the line between "Nice" and "Fast food" - Inkopolis Pizza.

They had more than just pizza on their menu, and it WAS a sit down affair. But you didn't have to wear a nice dress or tuxedo to get in. Hell you could roll up in your sweatpants if you wanted to. Which Three claims she had done multiple times in the past.

"Table for two please." Three said to the host as they walked in. The host nodded, grabbed two menus and signalled for them to follow him.

"This way please." The host walks into the dining room with Three and Eight following close behind him. Three would never say it out loud, but in her brain all that she could think was "Pleasegiveusabooth" over and over and over again.

"Here is your table, your server will be with you in a moment." The host gestured towards a booth, and Three silently celebrated.

Three took her seat on one side of the booth, and Eight took her seat across from her. They both opened up their menus and began to peruse their options. Three flipped through the pages, something new popping out to her every time she did. EIght seemed to be more idly looking through the pages, as though she was studying the options rather than them all popping out to her.

"Man I never know what to get here, there's so many good options." Three says as she continues to flip between several pages of the menu.

Eight, on the other hand, had stopped flipping through the pages and had settled on one of them, it seemed she was actually pretty quick to decide what she wanted.

"Eh, I'll probably just get pasta. It's one of the few dishes I've had since coming to the surface that has actually made me feel FULL." Eight shrugs. Not wanting to take up too much time after how long Three and her spent at the coffee shop.

Three nodded. "Fair, noodles to have a fair bit of substance to them. In that case I'll probably get some as well."

Three looked over the pasta options more intently, not seeing any specific dish pop out to her but pasta as a whole was now calling her name. She studies her options and thinks she's decided on what she's going to get. Fortunately, their server was coming up to their table so she could order before she changed her mind.

"Hello there! My name is Erika, I'll be your server tonight. Can I start you both off with something to drink?"

"Yeah uh, I'll just get an ice water." Three said, she'd considered a soft drink, but decided against it.

"Oh, uh, I'll get a root beer." Eight replied. Clearly feeling more adventurous than Three right now.

"Alright and are you two ready to order or do you need another minute?" Their server still has her pen and notepad out that she used to jot down their drink order.

"I'm ready if you're ready." Three said, looking over to Eight.

"Yeah I think I'm ready too." Eight smiled.

"Alright what will you have?" The server turned to Three, signaling her to order first.

"Yeah, uh, I'll get your 'create your own pasta' I'll go with spaghetti with alfredo sauce, please." Three closes her menu looks over at Eight who's glancing between the server and her menu.

Their server nodded as she wrote down Three's order on her notepad. "And for you?" She turned to Eight, signaling her to give her own order.

"OH! I'll get the Jambalaya Fettuccine." Eight folded up her menu and handed it to the server, three did the same.

"Alright your drinks will be right out, and your food should be out shortly after." Their server turned and walked towards the kitchen to get their orders started.

Now that they weren't waiting for a server or trying to order anything, they were again able to talk to each other freely. Eight is the first one to speak, and Three is more than happy to let her speak.

"You know, I'm glad you decided to text me today. I had wanted to get to know you but uh, I was a little scared." Eight blurted out, causing three to blush a little.

"Scared? What do you mean?" Three hoped Eight wasn't afraid of her, that's the last thing she wanted.

"Well, partially I was a little intimidated I think. I don't remember much about my past but I remember you were a force to be reckoned with." Eight paused, giving herself a moment to collect her thoughts. "And then there's uh, well I mean, I AM an Octoling. Kinda your sworn enemy."

Three rolled her eyes. "Octolings are not my enemy. Okay? They just happen to make up a large portion of a military I am less than thrilled with the existence of. I don't want a war, so I fight to keep it from happening. Cap'n himself made sure I wasn't splatting Octolings for the sake of it, but because they were actively fighting for Octavio. And while that may have been your past, it isn't your present. It's who you were, not who you are."

Eight couldn't help but tear up a little. "You really think that?"

Three nodded. "I do. Besides, if you'd been a double agent for Octavio, you would've lead me away from any respawn points and splatted me with my back turned. But instead, you're here, talking to me. Making me laugh, making me smile, making me cry. I don't care where you came from, it's who you are that matters to me." Three smiles at Eight, she meant every word. Eight wasn't her enemy, there's no reason for her to think Three would dislike her for something that was literally out of her control.

Eight sniffled and wiped a stray tear away from her eyes. "Th-thank you three."

"For what?" Three raises her eyebrow

"Helping me realize I'm actually free." Eight smiled. Three affirming that her past was not something Three held against her helped her to push any pieces of it she had behind her. She wasn't part of Octavio's army, and she wasn't a Kamabo test subject. She was Eight, and she liked that very much.

Three smiled. "Any time Eight."

Unknowingly interrupting the moment, their server returned to their table with their drinks "Here you are, ice water, and a root beer. Your food should be ready in a minute or so."

"Thank you." Three said as their server turned and returned to the kitchen. Three took a swig of her water as soon as she got it, but didn't drink much as she doesn't want to end up without any once her food arrives.

Eight just looked at her drink, then she looked back at three, then back to her drink, then back to Three. She could tell Three had been going through a lot, she didn't know the extent of it, but she did know that Three had shut herself in slightly after she broke down in Octo Canyon. Eight didn't want Three to go through things alone. If anyone could understand how fucked up Kamabo was, it would be her.

"You know, back in the Metro, there were a lot of… discouraging things going on. I had no memories, the tests were borderline torture sometimes, and god knows the lack of food was hellish. But I always had support. Cap'n, Pearl, Marina… they were there for me." Eight's voice wavered as she recalled the events of the Metro, but she found strength in remembering the friends she had made as well.

Three just looked at Eight in her beautiful purple eyes. "What are you saying Eight?"

Three could tell Eight had something she desperately wanted to say or to tell her, it was painted across her face. Three calmly and silently waited for Eight to finish her thought. Eight took a moment to compose herself, taking in a deep breath and slowing her hearts a little as they raced.

"What I'm saying is. Back in Octo Canyon, when you'd had your breakdown, I realized you were like I was in the Metro. Lost and alone. Now you do have friends, but they're so busy all the time. Callie and Marie both care about you I can tell, but they're idols, and you can't exactly go to a therapist every day…" Eight feebly fought back a blush. "I just thought, you know, I could be there for you, the same way my other friends had been there for me."

Now three was blushing, Three's mind raced with different versions of what exactly Eight is trying to convey to her. Three, not being one for tactfulness, opts to awkwardly ask for clarification while her face is almost the same colour as the tentacles that sit atop her head. Bright Orange.

"What do you mean Eight?" Eight bites her lip at Three's query, trying in her mind to formulate the proper words to articulate how she feels and what she wants to say.

Eight took in a deep breath, her own face also practically the same colour as her ink.

"I-I got to know you really well today Three, and I was wondering, if you'd like to… continue."

"C-continue?"

Before either of them could say anything else, their server returned with their food. Both Eight and Three said a silent prayer to whatever deity may exist thanking them for the save. The conversation had become very awkward and they were thankful to have a reason to change subjects. Though a part of Three did still wonder, did Eight want to be her friend… or something more?

The meal was mostly ate in silence, Eight was a monster and yet so polite when she ate. The food was gone quickly but there wasn't a spec of food debris anywhere it shouldn't be. No doubt thanks to Marina making sure she had proper manners.

Three on the other hand, was a fucking mess.

"Oh my GODS three how did you get sauce ON YOUR FOREHEAD?!" Eight laughed, Three was just enjoying her food with no care about what anyone thought.

"It's a talent." She said as she slurped another noodle, somehow causing it to whip about and get sauce on her ear.

Eight facepalmed, Three was adorable, she was helpless to resist her.

"I swear Marina would kill you if she saw the way you eat." Eight chuckled as she finished off her dish.

"Yeah? So would Marie, not gonna stop me from enjoying my food." Three said as she finished off the rest of her food as well. Three did, thankfully, snag a napkin to wipe her face with. As much as she didn't care what she looked like, the sauce felt weird on her face.

Their server rounded the corner just as the pair finished their meals. She came over to their table and Three and Eight offered their now empty plates to her. She loaded them onto the tray she was carrying so she could take them back to the kitchen to be cleaned.

"Is that all for tonight? Would you like to see the desert menu?" Their server glanced between them, patiently waiting for a response.

Eight and three looked at each other and shook their heads. "No we're good, the food was plenty." Three said.

Their server nodded, and walked back to the kitchen with their dishes to return them. Shortly she returned with the bill, and looking at the pair she asked a simple question.

"Together or seperate?"

"Together please." Three said, before Eight could even reply.

"Three, you already bought me coffee today, you don't need to buy dinner too." Eight tried to stop Three from expending any more of her money on her, but Three wasn't having it.

"No no, I insist. It's the least I can do after what you went through in the metro. And after, you know, trying to kill you." Three laughed and rubbed the back of her neck.

Eight just rolled her eyes.

"Okay well the first time was justifiable, we were enemies at that point, and the second time you weren't even calling the shots. You were being controlled."

Three shudders. "Don't remind me, that goop stung like hell."

Eight nods. "Sorry, just kinda thinking out loud."

"No don't be sorry, it's alright. I've had worse things happen to me."

"Really?" Eight raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah, I remember one time you smiled at me and I died." Three smirked at Eight.

Eight blushed. She wasn't about to let Three win with that line, as cute as it was.

"How could I not smile, you were the one who looked cute being all dazed and confused."

Now they were both blushing. Three wasn't sure how to proceed, but their server awkwardly cleared her throat, pulling Three's attention back to the bill that still needed to be paid.

"Oh right, sorry!" Three pulled out some of her money and paid their server, leaving them an honest tip. Once their server had gone, Three stood and gestured to Eight. "C'mon, let's go."

"A-alright." Eight followed closely behind Three as they walked out, they'd been together so long it was starting to get dark out. The sun already setting on the horizon.

Three then had an idea, it was a risky idea, but it was an idea.

"Hey, you know how you said you liked the way the sunset looked? Did uh, did you maybe wanna watch the sunset from the roof of my apartment? I think it's one of the most beautiful places to catch it." Three blushed as she rubbed the back of her head. She didn't want to have to say goodbye just yet

Eight blushed, Three had just invited her… to her apartment. Eight had to pause for a moment to allow her thoughts to clear. Eight weighed the options she had, spend more time with Three and watch the sunset from the roof of her apartment, or go home and face Pearl and Marina's inevitable barrage of questions. The decision was easy.

"Sure, that sounds lovely." Eight smiles through her blush, and Three beamed.

Three took hold of Eight's hand and started gently leading her towards the nearest launchpad. "Alright, quickly. Follow me to the super jump pad, if we hurry we won't miss much of it."


	7. 1-7 As one sun sets, another rises

Three was right, the sunset was beautiful from on top of her apartment building. Eight loved the way it reflected off the lake near Inkopolis park, but the way it shone through the city and seemed to dance with the business down below was something else.

Three had insisted on bringing up some chairs so they could sit together as the sun sets over the horizon. Eight waited patiently for Three to return, watching as the sun veiled through thin clouds slowly lowered through the sky. What Eight hadn't expected was for three to be carrying the chairs over her shoulder like they weighed nothing.

"Pffft, showoff." Eight giggled as Three rolled her eyes, setting the chairs down near the edge of the roof that was protected by the short railing.

"So what if I am? You saying you dislike the show?" Three blushed and smirked as she posed, flexing her muscles. She wasn't even trying to impress Eight, she was just having fun. Though she supposed her attempts at humour would do more to impress her than any literal show of strength would, Eight _had_ already saved the world.

"Oh my gods Three, you're impossible." Eight laughed and palmed her face, she loved how silly Three could be. The stoic agent, single handedly dismantling Octavio's armies… was hilarious.

"Thank you, I try." Three bowed, then gestured to the chairs. "Have a seat, please. I brought the chairs up for us to sit on."

"Oh really? I thought you just brought them here to flex." Eight smirked and giggled as she made her way to an open chair, Three taking her seat beside her.

"Hardee har you're hilarious." Three can't help but laugh lightly too, Eight's positivity was getting to her, and she had no issues with that. Three hadn't been this energetic since before Kamabo. Hell she hadn't been this enthusiastic since before she moved to Inkopolis! Eight's presence was something Three very much appreciated.

The pair of them sat together as the sun slowly dipped over the horizon, bathing the sky in beautiful colours. The reflections of the sky off the windows of the city towers were a sight to behold. The light cloud cover making the sky look like a canvas of colours and textures. Three would never admit it, but as she turned her head to look at Eight, she also loved the way the light of the setting sun reflected softly off of Eight's face, giving her a subtle glow like that of an angel.

"You know, I don't think I've appreciated a sunset this much since before I became an agent." Three let slip, turning her head back towards the burning ball of gas in the sky. A soft sigh escaping her lips as she smiles.

"What do you mean?" Eight turns her head to look at Three, the gentle sheen of her tentacles on either side of her reflecting the sun in unique and beautiful ways. The softness of her face emphasized by the gentle light of the descending sun. The curves of her cheeks reflecting and shining light almost like it was Three herself whom was glowing, and not the sun up in the sky. Eight couldn't help but think the only thing more beautiful in this moment than the sunset, was Three.

"Well, the sunset kinda happens every day. It had lost its magic for me years ago. Especially with…" Three shook her head, dismissing the thought. "But now, seeing how excited you get for it… it's kinda like I'm seeing it for the first time again too."

Eight blushed, she silently reached her hand so it held on to Three's. Three gripped on to Eight's hand as it entered her own, their fingers interlocking and a faint blush creeping across both of their faces. Eight then rests her head on Three's shoulder. Three was surprised but not unhappy with the contact. Eight let out a soft sigh that made Three's hearts ache, and her blush spreads further across her face.

"I'm glad I can share the magic with you. You deserve it Three." Eight closed her eyes, shuffling slightly closer. Eight loved the way Three's hand seemed to fit perfectly with her own, and how her shoulder made an amazing pillow.

"So do you, Eight." Three let out a small sigh and smiled. She rested her own head against Eight's, watching as the sun crosses over the threshold and the night begins to fade in as daylight fades away.

The pair stay like this until the sun was well below the horizon, bathing the sky in darkness. The lights of Inkopolis City shining a faint glow on the night sky as the stars slowly faded into view. Soon, the Moon rises and gently lights up the night. Eight couldn't help but feel like somehow, Three had made her appreciate being in Inkopolis even more than she had before. Three couldn't help but feel like for the first time in forever, she was content with where she was in her life. Neither of them wanted this moment to end. For once, they were both totally at peace.

Eventually though, someone had to speak. They both wanted to carry this moment into eternity, but they knew that all good things have to end at some point. Naturally, it was Eight who found the courage to break the deafening silence that had built between the pair.

"You know, I'm glad I got to spend time with you today. It was nice to finally get to know you, rather than just know about you." Eight sighed as she remained resting her head on Three, whos blush would no doubt be not only visible, but painfully obvious, to the aforementioned Octoling had her head not been on her shoulder.

"I'm glad too." Three's reply was quick, but calm "I've really enjoyed today. Probably the best day I've had since before… well you know."

Eight let out a simple "hmm" indicating she did, in fact, know what Three was referring to, still watching the darkness overtake the daylight. Shortly, a small breeze picks up, the cool evening air blowing over the pair causing Eight to shiver a little. The shiver does not go unnoticed by Three.

"Are you okay?" Three pulls her head away slightly, looking down at the girl resting on her shoulder.

"J-just a little chilly, it's fine honestly." Eight tried to dismiss Three's worries. She didn't want this moment to end, she wanted to savour it for as long as she possibly could.

Three wasn't having it. She carefully unzipped her hoodie, shimmied it off without knocking Eight's head off her shoulder, and gently wrapped it around her. Making sure it rests properly on Eight's shoulders so it doesn't slide off.

"There, better." Three smiles.

"But won't you get cold?" Eight looks up at Three, a partial worried expression on her face. She doesn't want to cause Three discomfort over a silly little shivver.

Three looked down at her shirt, an old orange tank top, and she shook her head.

"I've been out in colder weather in less than this, I'll be fine." She rests her head back on Eight's and turns her attention back to the diminishing light of the sun.

Eight blushed a little at the thought of Three in… less. But she quickly pushed that thought away. She was enjoying just, sitting here with her. In this moment, everything felt right. If Eight could spend the rest of time in this place, with Three, she'd do it in a heartbeat.

Three would never say it, but she too wished this moment would never have to end. Feeling the gentle rise and fall of Eight's breaths as her head shifted slightly against her shoulder. The warmth from her hand locked in with her own. The darkness of the night overtaking the brightness of day, and the city coming to life around them. Three was, for the first time in a long time, happy. Weather this could be called a date or not didn't matter to her. All she knew was, she's spending time with someone she cares deeply about, and that was more than enough for her. She hoped Eight felt the same wa- Eight is snoring.

"Oh my gods, she's asleep." Three whispered to herself. The Octoling had gotten so comfortable that she just, fell asleep.

Three rolled her eyes, of course this would happen. But now what? Three weighed her options, she could try to wake her, but that would be mean, she looked so peaceful. She could stay here until morning, but that also wasn't ideal. Chairs are not beds. So she was left with her final option… Take Eight into her apartment so she could sleep.

Taking in a quiet but deep breath, Three slowly stands, being careful not to jostle Eight too much as she slides her head off her shoulder. Then she scoops Eight up into her arms, she could come back for the chairs. Carefully Three carries Eight into her apartment. Her face painted orange from her blush. Three considers where she should put the sleeping Octoling in her arms…

Three had briefly considered putting her on the couch, but Three dismissed that thought as soon as it entered her mind. Eight was a guest and she was going to show her some proper hospitality. So Three decides that SHE will take the couch, and Eight can have her bed for the night. It's the least she could do after Eight effectively made her happy again, if only for a day. So she carries her into the bedroom, lightly places her on the bed and gently pulls the covers overtop of her, and smiles at the sight of the sleepy Octoling resting in her bed. Eight rolls onto her side and lets out a soft sleepy sigh that melts Three's hearts.

Three quickly snatches one of her pillows so she can use it to sleep on the couch, making sure she doesn't make too much noise as she prepares to head off to sleep herself.

"Goodnight Eight." Three says quietly before exiting the room, closing the door so the light doesn't pour into the room and wake her.

Three then quickly makes her way back up to the roof to snag the chairs she left up there, and on her way up she opens up her phone to send a couple messages as there is now an Octoling asleep in her bed.

* * *

Agent 3: Yo you still awake? I need you to relay a message to Pearl and Marina if you can.

Marie: Of course I'm still up, what message do you need relayed?

Agent 3: Just let them know that Eight fell asleep at my place, I don't want them to worry but I also don't want to wake up Eight, and I don't exactly have a car to drive her home with either.

Marie: I can do that. Should I give them your number so they can message you directly?

Agent 3: Yeah that would be good, then if they need me for anything they don't have to message you first.

Marie: Alright, stay safe Three, use protection.

Agent 3: OH MY GOD MARIE! IT IS NOT LIKE THAT!

Marie: Uh huh, sure, says the one who fucked my cousin.

Agent 3: And we were both consenting parties in that act, Eight is asleep right now, and I am not about to do anything to change that.

Marie: Alright Ms. Respectable :P

Agent 3: I hate you

Marie: No you don't

Agent 3: …

Agent 3: No I don't. Goodnight Marie.

Marie: Night Three.

* * *

Alright, that's dealt with.

She made her way onto the roof and snagged the chairs she had left there when she carried Eight down. She carefully made her way down the stairs with them to her floor, trying to not make too much noise as it was incredibly late at night now and she didn't want to get in trouble with her neighbors. Finally she found herself on her floor, she fished her key out of her pocket and unlocks it, all without setting either of the chairs down.

Three pushed her way back into her apartment, returning the chairs she'd stolen to their rightful place at her dinner table. She then switched off the main light and grabbed a blanket as she made her way to the couch. She sighed slightly as she laid down, part of her wished she could lay with Eight in her own bed, but she didn't know if Eight would like that. So she lays down on the couch, covers herself, sets her phone on the coffee table, and slowly drifts to sleep.


	8. 2-1 Dreams

Eight was once again in the metro, she could see nothing but the faint glow of the screen her CQ-80 gave off. She looked over the map and spotted the several stations she still needed to complete, challenges that would no doubt test her very sanity. But the promise of freedom was too sweet, so she pressed onwards.

The train took off as she selected a station, lights seemed to flicker as they passed by the windows of the subway train. The train was oddly empty for once, not even the Cap'n was on board with her. It was just her and C.Q. Cumber. After a few brief moments of waiting, the train arrives at her selected station. She doesn't remember what weapon options she had, she just wanted to get the test over with quick so she grabbed the "Recommended" one. It was an Octo Shot with the splat bomb sub weapon. She tapped her C.Q. 80 to the terminal and it withdrew her C.Q. points and the doors opened as she flew through them. She looked around and she was inside what seemed to be a small square room, with minimal cover. A cylinder on one side and some kind of power box on the other. The whole station felt quiet, there was no music like there usually was, though that music was usually distant and coming from very old speakers.

She raised her weapon in anticipation, but then she spotted something, something that made her ink run cold. There, standing across from her, was Agent 3. Fully geared for a battle to the bitter end. Her face was determined and she her eyes were fixed on Eight, her Hero Shot in her hands and ready to fight.

"No this can't be right." Eight thought. "This was never one of the tests!"

Agent 3 dove to the side and threw a splat bomb at her, Eight had to think quick and move quicker. Three is inking the ground and the walls, her standing space is quickly running out. Eight turns to fire, spreading her own ink across the ground and trying to get any advantage she could. She swims through her ink to flank Three, but Three cuts her off by firing her own ink on the ground in front of her path causing Eight to have to come out from the ink and fight.

Three was too fast for her, every time she thought she'd inked enough turf to escape, somehow her path was blocked again. Any time she thought she could ink Three up enough to slow her down, she'd roll to the side and roll out a splat bomb. Eight was running out of space and options, Three was merciless and kept up her assault. She was covered in her orange ink which stung, it felt like it was burning her skin, she wanted this fight to end. She tried using her CQ-80 to cancel the test and return her to the Metro, but Three knocked it out of her hands as soon as she pulled it out. The CQ-80 skittered across the ground away from Eight, she had to dodge backwards quickly as Three had her hero shot aimed right at her face as soon as the device was out of her hands. Eight swept Three's feet out from under her, but she couldn't bring herself to shoot her. She inked up the turf around Three and quickly swam away, popping out to ink more ground as needed.

Eight was tired, she was covered in enemy ink that was eating away at her form, and she didn't know what to do. Pearl and Marina weren't able to help her because she didn't have her CQ-80 anymore. Eight spotted Three diving out from behind cover and making her way towards her. Eight couldn't fight anymore, her body wouldn't let her. Eight just slumped to her knees as Three somehow pulled out a roller and brings it crashing down on to Eight's head.

Eight awoke with a yelp. She was sweating, her breaths were shallow and rapid, her hearts were racing. She closed her eyes and slowly breathed in through her nose, held it for a moment, then released, allowing her hearts rate to slow down. She grounded herself in the moment, she was on the surface, she was safe. Pearl and Marina were taking care of her. Then she noticed something, her room didn't smell normal. She took in another smell. She smelled, old ink and body odor? It wasn't strong, but it was definitely there.

She opened her eyes again and tried to figure out where she was. She couldn't see much in the darkened room, but what she could see was a small room, a dresser to her left that looks like it'd been torn apart in search of clothes, to the left of it there was a mirror, and then she was looking at the wall that the headboard of the bed was on, there was a window near the dresser, and then to the other side of the room, she spotted a closet. Then, looking to the opposite end of the room from the bed, she could make out an overflowing clothes hamper, and a slightly ajar door she assumed lead to a bathroom. Oh, and to the right of the dresser was what she assumed to be the door that lead out of the bedroom.

Suddenly memories came flooding back to her. She remembered being up on the roof watching the sunset with Three, she remembered Three seeming happy, much happier than when she saw her in Octo Canyon. She remembered how nicely Three's hand seemed to fit with her own. But most importantly, she remembered just how comfortable Three's shoulder was as the night faded in and overtook the day.

"Shit! I fell asleep!" Eight murmurs under her breath, unsure of where Three is at the moment and not wanting to wake her. Especially after that nightmare, the last thing she wanted was to give Three a reason to make it a reality.

"Pearl and Marina are gonna kill me!" Eight whipped out her phone, fully expecting it to be plastered with notifications of missed calls, tons of messages, and the promise of a lecture. But instead, when the screen lit up, it somehow said she only had one message from Marina.

Reluctantly, Eight swiped open the message, fully prepared for a five hundred word essay on how in trouble she was for not coming home. To her relief however, the message was short.

Marina: Hey just checking in, Marie called and said you had fallen asleep over at Three's place. Message me back when you read this, I just want to make sure you're okay. We hope you had fun and stayed safe! If you need anything be sure to message us!

Eight smiled, Three had made sure Pearl and Marina knew she'd passed out, and she couldn't be more thankful. Quickly she jotted out a reply, though her brain was still slightly foggy from having just woken up.

TheGr8agent8: Hey Marina, just got your message. I'm okay, I had a great time with Three. I'll be home sometime in the morning probably.

Eight smiled and locked her phone, setting it down on the bed beside her. She noticed, with the faint light of the city coming in through the window, that the side of the bed opposite to where she was laying seemed to have a little dip in it, almost like that was where Three always laid. Had Three intentionally put her on the other side of where she normally lays? Maybe Three intended to sleep in her own bed as well but felt awkward with Eight there. Actually, speaking of Three, where was she?

Three was in the midst of her own dreams.

She could see everything around her, the battlefield was small but plenty large for a 1v1. Slowly she realized that rising up through the floor was _her_. It was Eight! Three wanted to call out to her but her face burned and her body shifted in ways that made her teeth hurt. She saw her Hero Shot rising into view and she tried to stop herself, but she couldn't. Three watched in horror as her own body fought and tried to end Eight. The battlefield was a mess of aqua and magenta, her body felt like it had been dragged through hell and every motion it makes causes her agony.

Eight was losing, she was covered in ink and Three knew it was only a matter of moments before it was over. She fought to try and take back control of her own body, but all she could do was watch as she knocked the Octo Shot out of Eight's hands and backed her into a corner. Three wanted to end this nightmare, she didn't want to hurt Eight. But she felt her finger slowly start to squeeze the trigger and she silently screamed, but just before she could pull the trigger all the way, she felt her legs get swept out from under her, her head slamming against the ground hard. She spotted eight grabbing her OctoShot off the ground and turning towards Three, aiming it right at her. Three practically begged her to do it, she couldn't live with herself if she hurt her. In a flash she saw a torrent of Magenta ink flung at her face, and just like that, she was awake again.

Three sat up on her couch, and looked around. She wasn't screaming, but her body was sweaty and she felt like shit. She knew Eight was likely still asleep in her room, and she didn't want to bother her. So she stands up and walks over to the kitchen, snags a cup out of the cupboard and fills it with water from the tap before downing it in one second. Setting the cup back in the sink, Three makes her way back over to the couch and lays back down. She sighs quietly to herself. This dream wasn't the worst dream she'd had since Kamabo, but it was certainly the most… real.

It felt less like a dream and more like a hazy partial memory. Had that been what happened? They had only told her that she tried to splat Eight while under Tartar's control, but if that dream was what really happened, Eight was lucky to have won. But she decided not to dwell on it, if that is what happened then she's glad it did. She just wishes she could've avoided getting her mind taken over all together, but she has long since learned not to dwell on things that can't be changed.

Three then heard something that made her heart flutter a little, she heard her own bedroom door click open. Then she heard quiet footsteps making their way closer and closer towards her. With the faint light of the clocks on her oven and microwave, as well as the gentle glow of the city coming in through the window, Three could just barely make out the form of Eight standing just behind the couch.

"Psst, hey Three, you awake?" Eight spoke softly but with purpose, her voice sounded shaky almost like she'd seen a demon.

"Yeah" Three sat up slightly to get a better look at Eight as she rounded the couch and sat down next to Three's feet.

Eight's breaths were still shallow, with Eight now sitting closer Three could see the small tentacles that flanked her face were curled up tightly and she was practically shaking.

"Eight… are you okay?" Three sits up all the way and moves closer to Eight so they're sitting right next to each other. Eight glances at Three but then looks away before finally speaking.

"I-I had a nightmare." Eight curls up into a ball beside Three, her feet on the couch cushion she sat on and her knees against her face. Three could hear faint sobs coming from her.

Three, without even thinking, wraps her arms around the poor girl. She holds Eight's head gently and subconsciously she gently rubs her head as well. Slowly Three feels Eight's body relax, everything beginning to loosen up. She feels Eight turn slightly to wrap her own arms around Three's chest, and she holds tightly. Three is more than happy to let her, especially because she knows that Eight needs the solace right now. Though she'd never admit it, Three needed it as well.

"You're okay Eight, your dreams can't get you here. Nothing will. I promise." Three tightens her grip on Eight, letting out a gentle sigh, not wanting to let go ever. "I've got you, I promise I'll never let anything like that happen to you again."

Eight sniffled as she pressed her face into Three's chest harder. Three didn't dare move, she only wanted the girl in her arms to be okay. Three could hear Eight's breaths slowly become more normal. She slowly stopped shaking as well. Soon Eight only had faint signs of a sob every so often as she held tightly to Three. Three could tell Eight was starting to feel better, but she'd continue to hold her for as long as Eight needed.

"Th-thank you." Eight choked out between muffled sobs, her breathing almost back to normal but a few stray tears linger in her eyes.

"Any time, I'm here for you." Three didn't smile, but she did mean her words. This was such a stark difference from what Eight had been like during the day. Three has no problems holding Eight and helping her get back to not feeling distressed.

Eight didn't want to move, and she didn't for a very long time. Eventually however Eight started feeling herself want to sleep again. She let out a quiet yawn which caught the attention of Three.

"It's still late, you should go back to sleep Eight." Three sighed, brushing Eight's face gently to clear away any stray tears that haven't dried.

Eight nodded. It was only 3am, even if she wanted to go home there'd be really no safe way there. So she'd stay. Not that she wanted to leave at all. Three had been so kind to her and this moment was nice, even though it was caused by a horrible nightmare.

"I don't want to take your bed from you though. You've done so much for me already I-" Three cut her off by placing her finger over her mouth.

"It's no problem. I am happy to give up my bed for you." Three smiled at Eight which causes her to blush, and quietly Three gets up and leads Eight back to the bedroom.

"Sleep well Eight, if you have another nightmare, you know where I am." Three said as she stood in the doorway to what was usually her own room.

Eight nodded. "Thank you Three, for everything."

"Y-you're welcome." Three blushed lightly as she switched off the light and closed the door. Once again Three makes her way over to the couch so she can go back to sleep. She hopes Eight has a much more restful rest of the night.

Finally laying down and covering herself, Three feels sleep begin to take her quickly, she needed a lot more rest and her body wasn't about to pass it up.

Neither Eight nor Three had any more nightmares that night.


	9. 2-2 New Begginings

Three awoke with a loud yawn, she could smell something delicious and it was making her mouth water. It smelled like… pancakes? It was definitely pancakes. But why would she be smelling pancakes?

Three sits up and looks around. Oh yeah she slept on the couch, that's right. She looks around as her eyes adjust to the light. Finally once she feels like she can see again, she looks over to the kitchen and her hearts melt.

Three sees Eight, standing in front of her stove, with her hoodie still draped over her shoulders, except it looks like she's got her arms slipped through the sleeves as well. Eight was a filthy hoodie thief! Three smiled to herself before tossing aside her blanket and standing to stretch, loosening her muscles and making it easier for her to exist. All the commotion of Three getting up must've alerted Eight to the fact that Three was no longer in her temporary comatose state because she quickly turns to face Three once she's done stretching.

"Ah! Good morning Three! I saw you had pancake mix and figured you might want some for breakfast." Eight beamed like a ray of sunshine in a dark and dreary world.

Three let out a yawn before finally walking over to the kitchen where Eight was.

"Thank you Eight, you didn't have to do this." Three smiles, she doesn't know what else to do to show her gratitude. Even if it's from a mix, this is the first home cooked meal she's had since before Kamabo.

"It's the least I could do, you gave me your bed and also helped me out when I had a nightmare. So I figured I owed you one." Eight blushes and glances away from Three, she had done so much for her and been so nice.

Three appreciatively places her hand on Eights shoulder. "You don't owe me for anything, but I will gladly accept these pancakes cuz I am starving."

Eight giggled before finishing up the last pancake. "Ah there we go." She placed the last one carefully on the stack before sticking the pan in the sink and dousing it with water making it sizzle.

"Alright don't let them get cold." Eight says turning around as Three grabs an empty plate and plops a few pancakes on it. "Oh by the way, I don't know where your syrup is so I couldn't have it pulled out."

"Nah, that's fine, it's in the fridge. It throws most people off." Three pops open the fridge, snags the syrup out of it, then swiftly kicks it closed again and brings her plate and the syrup to the table.

Eight follows suit after grabbing a few pancakes as well. Soon they're both stuffing their faces full of the delicious concoction, Eight put a sensible amount of syrup on her pancakes. Three does not. Three emptied half the bottle onto her pancakes, and as she eats she's getting it all over her face, just like the sauce last night.

"My gods Three, how are you so messy." Eight chuckles as she takes another bite of her own meal. Three didn't care what others thought about her, she just did what made her happy, that was something Eight couldn't help but admire about the Inkling.

"Skills that's how." Three promptly shoves another half pancake into her mouth like some kind of monster. Eight just rolls her eyes and eats her pancakes sensibly. The pair exchange a few idle giggles as Three continues to be a menace to civilised inkling society.

Before long, however, they're both done eating. Three insists on cleaning up since Eight went through the effort of making breakfast. Three's dishwasher was actually pretty full after putting their plates, cutlery, and the pan into it, so Three decides to run it. May as well so she has clean dishes to use for the microwavable garbage she will likely be consuming once Eight is no longer around.

Three glances towards her turf gear, it's been a little while since she's had the chance to use it, what with her scar making it impossible to compete. But she felt like it wasn't going to bother her today, so she decides it would be good to get in some battles, if only to keep herself from getting rusty.

"Alright, well I don't know about you, but I'm gonna head over to Inkopolis Square and play some Turf Wars. I need to get my ink pumping. You're free to join me if you like, just be warned I will have no mercy if you're on the opposing team." Three winked as she grabbed her bag with her ink tank and her Hero Shot "Replica". Sheldon had managed to swap out the sub and special weapon tokens inside of it allowing her to continue to use her old gun instead of having to swap to something new. She was very appreciative of Sheldon for doing that.

"Well… maybe a few rounds. I just need to grab my Ink tank and Octo Shot from home." Eight smiled as she bounded her way up to Three. She was still wearing her teeshirt and jeans from the day before, but she had her baseball cap tucked under her left arm, and she was still wearing Three's hoodie too "Ready to go?"

Three smiled and turned away so Eight wouldn't see her blush.

"Y-Yeah, let's get going!" Three pushed open the door to the apartment and locked it behind them as they left.

* * *

After a brief superjump, they were at Pearl and Marina's house. Eight had told Three that it would likely surprise her how large it was, especially compared to her apartment. Eight had been very quick to assure Three that she thought her apartment was lovely and plenty big and that Pearl and Marina just simply had too much space.

Well the reality of Eight's words truly dawned on Three when they walked away from the landing zone and into the courtyard of Pearl and Marina's Mansion. It was unlike Three could've ever imagined. The courtyard had a fountain in the middle surrounded by stone walkways and luscious gardens with various flowers. Upon closer inspection, the fountain itself had an inkling and an octoling, in their squid and octo forms respectively, jumping into the air with a splash of ink around them. Or at least that's what Three assumed it was.

But then Three got a view of the mansion itself, and the sight before her was not what she expected at all. It was… big. Three couldn't quite believe how big it was. It was like the size of inkopolis square itself, and it had to be at least three stories tall, maybe four, but that's another storey.

Eight insisted that Three come in with her, and Three not wanting to disappoint, obliged. Upon entering, Three concluded that the house was bigger on the inside, because there was just so much SPACE!

"How. In the world. Do you not get lost in here." Three's jaw was held wide open as she scanned the area she was in. The entryway had a floormat they were standing on, leading away from it there was a sculpture in the middle of both Pearl and Marina doing their "Stay off the Hook!" pose, and flanking the sculpture on either side was a curved staircase that lead to the next level. Directly behind the sculpture was an elevator, because of course they have an elevator.

"Honestly I said the same thing when I first got here. Fortunately, Marina insisted on labeling all the doors, so you can usually figure out which part of the house you're in by what room you're near." Eight shrugged idly, she'd gotten used to how absurd their house was.

Three's face changed from "awe" to "What the literal fuck" In a matter of seconds, Eight, hearing this silent communication loud and clear, continued her explanation.

"Honestly a lot of the rooms are just storage, old props from shows, memorabilia that didn't get sold, some stuff they only give out to people they know. Honestly I think Pearl might be a hoarder, but Marina at least keeps the hoarding organized."

Three chuckles a bit at that comment, and as if being summoned by the mentions of their names, Pearl and Marina enter the room from opposite sides, but in perfect synchronization.

"Oh hey Eight, hey Three. Glad to see you two still alive." Pearl states as she approaches the pair standing in their front room.

"Yes, thank you for thinking to let us know she would be staying overnight Three, we appreciate it." Marina continued.

"Hey it's no problem, she seemed like she needed sleep so I just kina let her sleep." Three blushes and rubs her neck. Eight blushes and looks to the floor.

"Well that's good. So what brings you to our home today Three? Just taking Eight home, or?" Pearl inquires as she folds her arms.

"OH! Eight and I were gonna go do some Turf Wars, she said she needed to grab her ink tank and weapon though. I was gonna wait outside but she insisted I come in."

"Alright, Eight you know where it is. We just want to… have a chat with Three." Marina smiles, Eight nods and runs off.

Once Eight is out of sight, Marina turns back to Three, her eyes scream murder but her smile screams "it'll look like an accident." And Pearl now had her Dualies out… where did those come from?

"So Three… What are your intentions with Eight?" Marina's voice rang inside of Three's mind like a bell, it wouldn't stop and she felt herself sweating. Three could feel her soul leaving her body with every passing second.

"U-uh well, really I just want to get to know her better! Her and I seem to get along well and um… I think she's kinda cute?" Three blushed and gulped.

Marina places her hand firmly on Three's shoulder. This is it, Three thought, this is where she dies. They'd unplug all the spawns and splat her and there'd be nothing left but ink.

"Did you… DO anything last night?" Pearls voice rings equally loud in Three's mind, but rather than like a bell it was more like a car horn, more alarming and concerning.

"Wh- oh FUCK no! For one, she fell asleep! That would be wrong!" Three calls out. "Why would we do anything of that nature anyways? It wasn't even a date!"

Marina looks at Pearl, who looks back to Marina. Oh gods a silent conversation, Three HATED these, Callie and Marie would do it all the time and it pissed her off.

"So, you take a girl out for coffee, end up spending the entire afternoon chatting, then you take her to dinner and insist on paying, and THEN said girl falls asleep on you as you watch the sunset… and you DON'T think that's a date?" Marina cocked an eyebrow.

"Wait what, who told you what happened?" Three paused. Then brought her palm to her forehead. "It was Marie wasn't it."

Both Pearl and Marina nod as Marina pulls her hand off Three's shoulder and Pearl puts away her dualies. Both of them were smirking.

"You're fucking with me aren't you?" Three sighs, Pearl fucking chortles and Marina giggles.

"I'm sorry Three, we figured you didn't have any ill-willed intentions, but it was… _too easy_." Marina manages to get out through her giggles.

"Whopdeefucking-doo. Now I wish you HAD splatted me." Three rolls her eyes, but quickly spots Eight returning with her ink tank and Octo Shot. "Oh! Eight!"

Pearl and Marina quickly compose themselves, trying to appear like they weren't just having the worlds best laughing session.

Eight looks to Three before smiling and asking "Ready to go? It'll be fun to play with someone I know instead of by myself!"

Three smiles back and blushes a little. "Y-yeah! Let's go!"

Eight said her goodbyes to Pearl and Marina, and then her and Three head out to Inkopolis Square.

* * *

Eight and Three were almost always on the same team, and as such, were both winning a lot of games. Sure there'd be the odd match where they got split up, but those matches wound up being almost too close to call.

So in short, Three was having a fucking blast, and Eight was just happy to be there. They often switches up lobbies so they wouldn't be playing against the exact same group every time, which the other players were grateful for. Before long they'd both acquired enough extra cash from winning so many matches that they honestly would probably be set for a few months.

As the day drew to a close, Eight and Three had just finished up their last match of the day, another landslide victory for the pair. Turf Wars paid surprisingly well for effectively being just a drop in sport. But enough people enjoyed just watching that it brought in enough revenue to allow the players to get a kickback.

"That was so much fun! Thank you Three!" Eight squealed with delight.

Three couldn't help but chuckle at Eights delight. "Heh, it's no problem Eight. Honestly I'm happy to finally have someone to play with."

Eight hugged Three without warning, which caught Three off guard, but soon she was returning the gesture. Eight then pulled away from the hug slowly, and Three could see a visible blush on the girls face. Before she could ask, Eight quickly pecked Three on the cheek.

Three blushed hard, oh my gods did that just happen? Three couldn't even form words. Her entire face was orange.

"Um, th-thanks again." Eight bit her lip as she averted her gaze.

"A-Anytime…" Three replied while doing the same.

No more words were shared between the pair, but they could both feel something within them growing, and neither could deny it now. They both headed home thinking about how cute the other looked when they blushed.


	10. 2-3 Well that's just gross

Agent 3 and Agent 8 spent nearly a month repeating that day, sometimes they'd mix it up and play a little bit of ranked to get some variety, but overall they were just enjoying playing together. Eight still froze up whenever she heard a curling bomb, but it was only for a moment. Three took note of this and made sure she didn't ever use a curling bomb or curling bomb launcher.

They often found themselves stopping for dinner together after a day of battling. They constantly made so much extra cash from their battles that they never really had to worry about how much money they spent on going out to eat. However, since they didn't want to spend ALL of their earnings on food they did sometimes go back to Three's apartment and would watch movies, or they'd go to Pearl and Marina's and do the same, albeit on a much larger TV with much comfier seating.

All of this was not going unnoticed by Marie. She liked to keep tabs on her fellow agents, and she found it particularly interesting just how outgoing Three was when she was with Eight. Now sure, in the past Three hadn't been some stoic unwavering hardass, quite the opposite, but she did seem different after Kamabo. She was more shut in, she tried to put up a mask to try and be stronger or something, but Eight seemed to bring a little bit of the old Three back. Marie was very grateful to Eight for this, she could tell Eight meant a lot to Three, and vice versa.

Marie jotted down in her notebook that things seem to be looking up for Three, something she was very grateful for. She finishes writing down her notes then returned to the task at hand. She had a sample of Kamabo… 'ink' and they needed to see what could be done to counteract it. She decided to do the test in the landing area of Octo Canyon, partially because it was a private place with no prying eyes. Interestingly, after helping Three when her scar flared up, Marie had the idea to see how it would react when it touched an ice cube.

She carefully set up the ink tank that was full of Kamabo sludge, that's a better name for it. She delicately removes the top of the ink tank, oh gods the smell was horrible. It was like someone thought the smell of corpses was too nice and needed to make a worse smell. Marie snags an Ice cube from her pack, and drops it inside the tank. The goop flashes brightly for a moment before…

"Wait what. It's all gone? All of it?" Marie looks at the now empty ink tank completely bewildered, she had expected maybe for it to slowly dissipate, not just outright evaporate!

Just then, Callie jumps through the grate and spots Marie staring quizzically at an empty ink tank. Marie had told her she would be here today and she wanted to stop by and say hi. She was puzzled at why she was so confused about the empty ink tank, it looked like any other ink tank she'd ever seen.

"So uh, whatcha doin'?" Callie calls out from behind Marie to announce her presence.

"OH FUCK, CALLIE!" Marie turns to face Callie and clutches at her chest, falling slightly backwards but catching herself with the arm not presently pressed against her chest, startled by the sudden intrusion.

"Are you telling me to go fuck myself or?" Callie smiles, her joke managing to calm Marie down somewhat. She makes her way over to Marie and sits down across from her and the ink tank, curious about what the significance of it is.

"Har har, you startled me is all." Marie rolls her eyes and returns to her normal sitting position, brushing herself off to regain her composure fully.

"So what's with the empty ink tank? I thought you were running tests on that Kamabo shit." Callie says, adjusting her sitting position so she's more comfortable, her legs are crossed and her hands are on her knees.

"That's just it, I did. I dropped in one ice cube and the entire tank's worth disappeared." Marie gestures towards the empty ink tank, however she knows Callie likely wouldn't believe her if she didn't see it, produced another ink tank full of Kamabo Sludge.

"Just watch." Marie flips open the tank, Marie was prepared but Callie gagged at the smell. Marie quickly produces another ice cube, and drops it in. Once again, it flashes brightly, then all the ink is gone.

"Wha- how?" Callie questions.

"My best guess would be, in the underground facilities of Kamabo, it is very hot and humid. So the ink had to be able to survive down there like that. So as a result, cold doesn't agree with it. Ice makes it outright vaporize." Marie shrugs, it's a theory but it's a theory with evidence. She still wishes she knew more about the stuff though so she'd likely have to return to Kamabo at some point to get more samples.

"I guess that makes sense. Where'd you get the idea to try ice anyways?" Callie sways idly back and forth, she has so much energy all the time and has to expend it somehow.

"I went over to Three's place after I found out about… you know." She glances towards her cousin, silently communicating what she meant.

Callie blushed.

"Her scar acted up, I thought maybe some ice might soothe the pain, especially since it was so bad she up and passed out. But what I didn't expect was as soon as I put the ice pack on the scar, her entire body stopped convulsing and it relaxed." Marie paused while glancing between Callie and the two empty ink tanks.

"Well… I'm glad you were able to help her, she seemed pretty cagy after the incident." Callie states as she opens up her bag and rummages through it, she pulls out and offers Marie a can of cola. "Here, you've been working yourself too hard, you need a break."

Marie takes the can and cracks it open. "Thanks Callie, I appreciate it." She takes a sip, sets the can down for a moment, then packs away the now empty ink tanks. She then snags the can off the ground and resumes the consumption.

"We'll need to get this information to Three, I bet with any luck we might be able to prevent another flare up from happening ever again." Marie states between sips.

Callie nods, cracking open her own can as well.

"I agree. Speaking of agents, how's Agent 4 been doing? I've not seen her much since she thwacked those hypnoshades off me." Callie shrugs as she takes another drink, making a slight slurping noise.

"Maybe she's avoiding you because you kept putting them back on." Marie smirks at her, she knew it was part of the hypnotization that made her put them back on, but still it was a little amusing.

"... Point taken." Callie averted her gaze slightly.

"But if you MUST know, Agent 4 has been busy with ranked battles since the last time she beat you and Octavio. Says she needs to keep her skills sharp." Marie smiles and sits back slightly. "She actually is pretty damn good, mixes up her strategy based on the enemy team's approach. She once won a Tower Control match without ever setting foot on the tower, all she did was draw the enemy team away and corner them. It was really impressive I must say."

Callie nods. "Uh huh, and you totally were just watching her for agent reasons and not for any other reason right?" Callie takes a dramatic slurp from her can after posing the question.

Marie visibly blushes. "H-hey! My reasons for watching Agent 4 do literally everything are perfectly reasonable!" Marie pauses "Wait no that came out wrong."

Callie just laughs. "Oh Marie, you're too easy to get a rise out of. Weather you like 4 that way or not is your business, I just like poking fun."

Marie pouts before returning to her beverage, giving Callie the stink eye while she slurps down her drink.

As if hearing her number summoned her, Agent 4 pops through the grate into Octo Canyon, already in full Agent gear. The tentacles on her head are short, sort of like Pearl's, but ever so slightly thinner. She also stood about the same height as Marie, and had a look in her eyes that said "I will try to be your friend first, but I will kill you if you cross me."

"Oh, hey girls, didn't realize you'd both be down here today. What's up?" Agent 4 walks over to the pair sitting on the ground.

"Hi four! Marie was running experiments and I was bringing Cola for us to drink." Callie smiles and waves for Four to join them, materialising another can of Cola for her.

Four gingerly snags the Cola out of Callie's hand, pops it open, and takes a swig.

"Mmmm that hit the spot. Been doing ranked all day and I didn't have time to stop for anything before popping by." Four smiles and sits down next to the pair. "So what have you found out? From the reports, that Kamabo ink is NASTY stuff."

"Like you wouldn't believe. But I have just made a breakthrough. It absolutely HATES the cold!" Marie beams with excitement causing 4 to smile in response. "One ice cube is enough to evaporate an entire ink tank's worth"

"Seriously? That's amazing! And if everything you've told me about Kamabo is true, then for sure that intel will no doubt come in handy." Four smiles and takes another swig, Callie and Marie do the same. "Any other developments?"

"Just one, it acts a lot like how Inkling and Octoling ink should behave, but it seems almost… alive. Like if I left it outside of a container it might just start squiggling away." Marie stops for another sip "I know this because that's what happened when I was gathering the samples. Thanks to Kamabo being in shambles due to Eight effectively killing their leader, I was able to sneak in and fill up some ink tanks."

Callie and Four share a look. Marie knew that look. It was the look her and Callie gave each other whenever Three went off and did something reckless. Four hadn't gone with her, and neither had Callie, which could only mean one thing...

"You went into Kamabo, ALONE?!" Callie growls, Marie had never seen her cousin growl before and it startled her a little.

"Well, uh, yeah? I needed to run these tests!" Marie defends, her heart starts to race as she realizes how bad Callie is taking this news.

"You have two perfectly capable agents sitting right here next to you, and you didn't think to contact EITHER of us?!" Four spat. Now Marie was concerned, Four had NEVER raised her voice at her before. Four had always been kind and gentle, this was a side of Four that terrified her.

"Uh…" Marie was struggling to justify her actions now. Her mind raced to try and think of a reason, any reason, why she hadn't called on either of them for help. "I was in a hurry?"

"Marie, Kamabo is dangerous. Gramps told us what happened didn't he? Agent 3 nearly got herself killed!" Callie's words were starting to waver, her eyes were welling with tears. Her entire body is starting to shake as her composure weakens, she's breaking down in front of Marie's eyes.

"Callie, I-I-" Marie chokes out, her mind playing images in her head of how she felt when Callie got taken by Octavio and how devastated she was. How could she possibly risk doing the same to Callie?

"WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Callie yelled, tears streaming down her face now. "What if you got too far from a respawn pad and got cornered?! What if it did to you the same thing it did to Three?! What if…" Callie choked back a sob. "What if we lost you forever?"

Marie couldn't think. Callie, her best friend and cousin, was breaking down right in front of her… and it was her fault. Marie can't bring herself to even attempt to defend her actions, she did wrong and Callie is proving it. Marie just grabs Callie and pulls her into a tight hug, keeping her there as she speaks her words to her.

"I'm sorry Callie. I should've at least let you know I was going in on my own. I just didn't want you to worry." Marie now has tears welling in her own eyes. "I promise it won't happen again."

Callie squeezes Marie tighter. Crying into her cousin's shoulder. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Marie, it made every single one of her hearts ache. Marie was more than a cousin to her, she was more like her sister than anyone else she's ever known.

"You better not!" Callie sniffles, regaining some composure as she holds tightly to Marie. Callie doesn't ever want to let go. "Or I'm sending Agent 3 after you!"

That comment makes both the Squid Sisters giggle, and slowly they come apart, their faces stained by dried tears. Four awkwardly sips on her drink. Marie wipes Callie's face, looking her cousin in the eyes.

"I love you Callie, and I'm sorry I ran off like that. Please don't be mad with me." Marie smiles, hoping for forgiveness from her cousin.

Callie chokes back another sob. "I love you too Marie, I just… I remember what happened to me with Octavio, and I got scared. I should never have put you through that."

Callie rubs her eyes, sniffling. She felt so bad about what happened and the thought of the same thing, or worse, happening to Marie tore her apart.

Four's can runs empty at exactly the wrong time and she accidentally makes a loud slurping noise. Callie and Marie instantly remember that they're not alone, and scoot slightly away from each other, booth looking flustered.

"S-sorry Four, we kinda forgot you were there, caught up in the moment." Callie rubs the back of her neck and giggles awkwardly. Marie, on the other hand, just averts her gaze and blushes.

"No, no! It's okay! Honestly that felt like it had been building since… well since the last time I beat you Callie. No offense." Four smiled like a gremlin causing Callie and Marie to both roll their eyes and nod in agreement in the same motion.

"We needed to get that out. There's probably a lot more we need to talk about too, but, I'm just glad you're okay Marie. You're my cousin and I care about you. We may as well BE actual sisters." Callie smiles, the warmness returning to her face.

"Yeah, honestly I still feel awful for a lot of the things I've said either to or about you. Especially when we were doing the news." Marie looks to the ground, she's not proud of a lot of words that have come out of her mouth.

Callie waved her hand to dismiss that thought. She knew Marie was just playing for the cameras, they cared about each other too much for either of them to actually mean any hurtful things.

"Don't worry too much about it, there was only ever one or two that actually stung, and even then not for very long. It was part of the show, hyped up the Splatfests a lot." Callie shared a smile with Marie.

"Anyways. Uh, is there anything you need me for? Stray zapfish gone missing? Octarian activity in strange places?" Four breaks the silence. She wasn't dressed in her hero uniform for decoration, though Marie certainly didn't mind her appearance in it.

"Honestly? Nothing. Kamabo might be a cause for concern, but until we know more, any missions related to it are strictly intelligence gathering. Don't get me wrong, you're a fine agent, but you're a fighter. You wouldn't be my first choice for a stealth mission." Marie smiles at Four. "However if Kamabo becomes hostile for any reason, you'd be the first person I'd call."

Four smiles, feeling appreciated.

"I know my limitations, I could probably do intelligence gathering if you absolutely needed me to, but I'd be nowhere near as good as you are, Miss Factopedia." Four winks at Marie making her blush. "Alright then, if that's it I'm gonna head home then. Might stop at AmmoKnights before I get too far, see if any new weapons are available and say hi to Sheldon… if he'll let me get a word in."

Four heads for the grate, Callie and Marie waving as she leaves. Four transforms into her squid form and jumps through the grate, heading back to Inkopolis Square. Callie turns to Marie, whose face is still slightly green with a blush.

"OH HOHO! YOU DO LIKE HER!" Callie calls out. "I KNEW IT!"

This prompts Marie to blush harder and turn away from her cousin.

"N-no! It's not like that! I-I just admire her skills is all!" Marie is terrible at hiding her feelings, they're painted on her face like ink in a turf war.

"Marie. I've known you for a very long time, I can tell you're crushing hardcore." Callie smirks, this time it was her turn to tease her cousin.

"Shut up! I am not!" Marie blushes harder, completely counteracting her statement.

Callie is not convinced, but decided she'd teased her cousin enough for the day.

"Oh fine. Sooner or later you're gonna have to be honest with yourself. Anyways, I should head home. It's been a long day and I just want to put my PJs on and stagnate for the rest of the day." Callie gets up to leave, but before heading through the grate, she turns to Marie. "If you ever have to go back down there, please let me come with you. I don't want to lose you."

And with that, Callie disappeared into the grate, leaving Marie alone. Marie, wiping her face of stray tears, returns to the task at hand. She has one more ink tank's worth of Kamabo ink, and she wants to know how it reacts when out in the open rather than in the confides of an ink tank.

"Here goes nothing." She pops open the top of the final ink tank, and pours a little bit onto the ground, before quickly sealing up the tank again. She first just observes it, seeing what it does while just sitting on the ground. It pulses with a faint glow, almost like a heartbeat. Before long, it starts to shift around, spreading slightly along the ground. Marie pulls out another ice cube from her pack, and tosses it in the middle of the small puddle she made.

The substance reacts far less violently than it did inside of a sealed ink tank. Within a 3 inch radius of the ice cube, the substance evaporated instantly, however the rest of it remained. Marie had figured it would react differently but she was still surprised at how much still evaporated. She then pulled out her charger and fired across the remaining puddle, and it was gone. She gently poked around the ink she shot to see if the substance had tried to absorb into her ink. Much to her relief, it had not.

"Okay, Three wasn't kidding when she said this stuff was nasty." Marie comments to no one. She turns to the mostly full ink tank with the Kamabo sludge inside of it, pops out one last ice cube, and drops it in.

"There. That's enough experimentation. I think if I pass this intel on to Sheldon he could make a weapon we can use in case Kamabo tries anything again." Marie takes out her notepad and scribbles down her findings. Before she heads back to Inkopolis however, she walks over to where Octavio and her grandfather, Cap'n Cuttlefish, were situated.

"Hey gramps. Hey grumps." Marie says to The Cap'n and the captive DJ respectively.

"Oh Marie! So good to see you. How've you been?" Cap'n beams, happy to see his granddaughter. Octavio, on the other hand, just grumbles.

"Been doing pretty good, found a major weakness in that Kamabo 'ink' so I'm gonna pass the intel on to Sheldon to see if he can fashion a weapon designed around it." Marie smiles, taking a seat beside the Cap'n "what about you? What are you up to?"

The old captain sighs. "I've been keeping my eyes on Octavio mostly. He seems to be pretty content with his place now. I think realizing his troops were defecting caused him to re-evaluate his life choices."

"I did what I thought was right for my people." The old DJ mumbles. "It was never personal."

Marie and the Cap'n glare at Octavio. Absolutely not satisfied with his answer at all. Not that he could really say anything that they would be satisfied with at this point.

"So what was that nonsense with Callie then?" Marie spits as she scowls at Octavio.

The DJ winces, he knew there was no justifying that. There was no line that he could say to make it like he was just trying to help. In that moment, he admitted to himself, he was the bad guy.

"It was… a mistake. I was blinded by revenge." Octavio sighs, looking down at the ground through his snowglobe. "I don't expect you to forgive me. Just know that I realise now I was wrong."

Cap'n and Marie share a look, silently saying that while they believe he does regret his actions, he still cannot be trusted. He's committed atrocities that have forever stained his reputation among them.

"Maybe so, but your actions are still inexcusable." The old Cap'n says, putting his hand on Octavio's snowglobe. "I want nothing more than for our two races to see peace, and without you in the way, we finally have the best shot in over a hundred years of achieving it."

Octavio sighs loudly. Averting his gaze from the pair.

"You are right Cap'n. You have always been right." Octavio sighs, it took him over 100 years to realize what he should've known all along.

Cap'n chuckles to himself.

"Oh if only you'd have said that before the war. We could've built the world together Octavio." The old Inkling sighs, remembering days long since passed. "But one thing I can commend, is your dedication to your people. You've made mistakes, who hasn't. But, you were always trying to help your kind."

Craig knows that Octavio is feeling genuine remorse for his actions, and while he can't bring himself to forgive him for what he's done, he can at least offer him the simple kindness of not ignoring the good intentions. Ignoring the good would only drive Octavio further from the light and Craig wanted to avoid that.

The old Octopus in the snowglobe can't help but smile. For the first time in over a hundred years, he could finally feel at peace with himself. His people were suffering, they were lost and stuck underground. He had tried everything he knew for his people, but he knew that he wasn't the man for the job anymore.

"Thank you Cuttlefish, it means a great deal to me to hear you say those words." The old DJ nods to Craig, then pauses for a moment before turning his attention towards Marie. "Marie, if you haven't already, I suggest you smash those Hypnoshades. Smash them until there's nothing left. I designed them so that if she sees them, she's going to subconsciously want to put them back on."

"Why are you telling me this?" Marie questions, bringing her hand to rub her chin. Octavio didn't seem like the type to give up information like this willingly, and yet here he was, telling them something that no doubt would've given him a tremendous advantage should he desire to betray them.

"Because… I finally accept what must happen for my people. I've led them for so long but look where it got them. Still trapped underground. I am not the king my people need, nor am I the one they deserve." Octavio sighs, he's given up trying to take over inkling kind and force them underground. The Octolings leaving his ranks and being accepted with open arms in Inkopolis have lead him to realize that peace is an option. But he knows he's not the one to lead them to it.

Marie nods, making a mental note to actually figure out where those damn shades got put, before standing to leave. She goes over and gives Cap'n a hug before turning to face Octavio one last time. She has some parting words for him that she needs to say before she feels she can leave.

"I appreciate everything you've said to me." She quips, but before Octavio can respond, she adds the rest of her thought. "But if you even consider hurting my family ever again, even as a passing thought, I will personally tear you limb from limb."

Marie then turns dramatically, putting the surgical mask over her face so the populous won't notice her, and returns through the grate to Inkopolis, leaving Octavio and Cuttlefish alone.

"She's uh, intense." Octavio states, his pupils seemingly a lot smaller than before Marie's comment. If you looked closely you'd also be able to see that he was visibly shaking.

The Cap'n nods, takes a sip from his tea, then turns to face Octavio, staring him directly in the eyes.

"And she's not joking either."


	11. 2-4 A time for firsts

Agent 3 had been spending a lot of time with Agent 8, between battles and lunch outings, she practically saw her every day. Agent 3 also got intel from Marie that Kamabo ink hates the cold, like a lot. She had taken to putting an ice pack on her eye every night before bed, and as a result hadn't had her scar flare up in over a month. All in all, Agent 3 was having a wonderful time. So why was she pacing her apartment? Why was she struggling to find the words she wanted to form? The answer, of course, was Agent 8.

Three knew for a fact that she was in love with the Octoling. At first she thought it was just a little crush, and she didn't want to pursue anything yet because she didn't know that much about Eight yet. She didn't want to rush into things based on appearance alone. Now? Now she knew just about all there was to know about the girl. From the way she laughs at a bad joke, to the way she cries during a sad movie. She loved nearly everything about her, she couldn't deny it.

Three wanted to make things official with Eight, she wanted to keep doing everything they were doing now, and more. She wanted to wrap her arms around Eight's shoulders and pull her into a kiss. But she was afraid, afraid that she'd scare Eight away. Afraid she didn't share her feelings, that Eight just wanted to be friends. Close friends, but still just friends. She was worried that if she asked Eight out and she said no, it would result in ruining their friendship due to the deadly awkwardness.

Eight, on the other hand, was faring no better.

Eight paced her room, she kept typing things into her phone then deleting them just as fast. Her frustration grew with every line she wasn't satisfied with. Three was one of the best things to happen to her since she escaped the Metro. Sure Pearl and Marina had taken her in and cared for her, but Three had befriended her and took the time to understand and spend time with her. Pearl and Marina were more like her moms than her friends.

Eight glanced at the clock, she'd been trying to come up with the least awkward way to ask Three out for the better part of TWO HOURS, and she was still never confident enough to hit send.

"AUGH! Why is this so HARD!" Eight flung her phone across her room onto her bed. "Why is it so hard to just say HI I LIKE YOU AS MORE THAN A FRIEND LET'S DATE!"

Eight falls onto her bed and buries her face into her pillows and screams. Why was she so nervous? She was pretty sure Three liked her back, and even if she hadn't considered it maybe she'd be willing to give it a try? They've become so close with all of their battling and hanging out. Eight could just never form the words when it came to actually TALKING to her!

Eight hears a knock on the door, and the muffled voice of Marina speaks through it.

"Eight? You okay? I heard yelling." Marina's voice seemed to calm Eight slightly, her concerned tone making Eight realize she'd been entirely too loud, especially with how distressed her tone must've been.

Eight takes a moment to breathe, calming herself as best as she can before standing up from her bed and making her way over to the door. She reaches up and grabs the handle before turning it and opening the door for Marina.

"Hey Marina, sorry for the yelling. I'm just frustrated." Eight sighs, her face laden with an obvious blush.

"What's going on?" Marina steps into the room and sits on Eight's bed, motioning for her to take a seat beside her. Eight quickly does so and she feels like she can finally just speak her mind.

"It's Three!" Eight cries. "I just, I don't know how to articulate how I feel and I'm afraid of doing it wrong."

"Well, how DO you feel about her?" Marina smiles, making sure Eight knows she's not going to judge her next words. "Tell the truth, I want to know how you feel so I can help."

"I think… I think I'm in love with her." Eight states bluntly. "But I'm afraid if I tell her that, she'll think I'm coming on too strong or tell me that she doesn't like me that way. I don't want to lose what I already have with her!"

Marina places her hand on Eight's shoulder, and squeezes it gently to ground Eight in the moment and causing her to turn and look at her. Marina gives Eight a reassuring smile, stroking her shoulder gently with her thumb to keep Eight from stressing too much.

"I'm sure that wouldn't happen, I've seen how she looks at you every time she comes over to pick you up before you two go turfing. She cares a great deal about you." Marina attempts to reassure Eight, but somehow her words do nothing to calm the Octoling she took in.

"That's just it. I don't want to lose that! What if she just sees me as a close friend and doesn't want to pursue something like that with me? What if by asking her, she stops wanting to be my friend?" Eight can feel tears welling in her eyes at the thought of losing Three. She'd rather stay friends than lose her altogether.

Marina sighs heavily, she knows Eight is worried but she also knows that there's no way her fears would be realized. She's seen the way Three acts around her, she can tell that Three is crushing just as hard as Eight is. She tries to subtly hint this to Eight hoping to calm her down.

"Sweetie, let me tell you something. Three may be a hardass, but she's not a horrible person. If she didn't share your feelings, you'd continue to be friends. But I don't think that would be a problem anyways."

Before Eight can get Marina to clarify her meaning, Eight's phone dings. She turns around and grabs it off the bed to see what caused it to sound off, her eyes going wide as she looks at who the message is from and she freezes, afraid to open it.

"Oh no, it's Three." Eight says, her hearts racing. Marina pats her on the back and flashes her a warm smile, calming her slightly. Reluctantly, she opens the notification to see what it says.

* * *

Agent 3: Uh hey Eight, I was wondering if we could like, talk? Just one on one? I've got something I want to tell you and… It would be best said in person.

Eight's mind is racing now, what did Three want to talk about? And why couldn't it be said over text or even over the phone?

TheGr8Agent8: Yeah that sounds good, where and when?

There was a long pause, Marina was peering over her shoulder to see the conversation but Eight didn't care. Eight just wanted to know what Three was being so cagy about.

Agent 3: Uh, I could jump over, or you could come here. Either is fine, I just need to talk to you privately.

TheGr8Agent8: I'll come over, Pearl is the opposite of private.

Agent 3: Okay, uh, see you in a sec I guess?

* * *

"Oh gods oh fuck what could she possibly want to talk about?" Eight was a nervous wreck. "Does she secretly hate me and now she's coming clean? What is it?!"

Marina chuckled, patted Eight on the back, and stood to leave the room.

"I think you should just head over there, and if she breaks your heart, just know that Pearl and I will be over there in an instant to rip hers out." She smiles before leaving the room.

Marina always had a way of calming her down, it was a gift. Eight decided that if Three wanted to talk in person, it must be important. She didn't want to show up in sweatpants, but she also didn't want to adorn a dress or a suit. She frantically searched through her clothes, tossing aside different shirts and pants, trying to come up with a look that doesn't come off as trying too hard while also not coming off as not trying at all.

After nearly half an hour of clothes digging, she decided she should just wear the outfit she had worn the very first time her and Three hung out. The Orange tee shirt, the simple baseball cap, and the red lace-up shoes, paired with a pair of jeans. It was simple but it looked good… and had the added benefit of feeling nostalgic.

Pearl and Marina helped her make sure her outfit was fully cleaned and looked good, just like they had before she went to see Three the first time. She felt a pang of hope in her hearts, maybe Three DID feel the same way and that's why she wanted to talk in person. But Eight couldn't let herself dwell on that thought too long, she didn't want to get that hope dashed too harshly.

"Okay, I got this." She said, making her way to the jump pad. Marina and Pearl had given her a hug before she left, giving her that much more emotional strength. Finally, she reached the jump point, input Three's apartment into the keypad, and when the pad flashed and shifted to the dark blue her tentacles and ink were at the moment, she knew it was ready.

Super jumps never take very long, the longest legal jump taking thirty seconds at max, but every second spent in the air felt like freedom for Eight. Super jumping in Kamabo was very different, the air was musky and thick, and it felt like it was trying to grab her. But the air on the surface was light, like all it wanted to do was wave at her as she passed by.

Before long, she had landed on the rooftop. She straightens her shirt and makes sure it's sitting right before walking over to the keypad for the door, and buzzes Three's apartment. Without even a word from the speaker the door buzzes and lets her in. She carefully walks into the building, makes her way down to the floor that Three lives on. She carefully looks around, she'd never been in this hallway alone and it was mildly unsettling, she decides it would be best to get into Three's apartment sooner rather than later, and heads to the door.

Eight knocks on the door lightly and she swears she hears something thud on the ground, like someone falling over, before hearing a clamouring towards the door. The door swings open to reveal Three, standing in front of Eight. Three was wearing a button down purple shirt, with small anchor patterns on it in black, she had on a fresh pair of black jeans, was that a tag still attached to them? And her feet were adorned in purple sneakers with black laces. Her head would have her studio headphones on, but they were wrapped around her neck at the moment.

"Oh! Eight! Come in please!" Three smelled… nice. Strangely nice. Like she murdered a family of flowers and bathed in their scent. In fact, her entire apartment looked considerably more put together. Eight remembers there being a lot more… trash everywhere. Like not a lot, but enough to be noticeable. How much time HAD Three spent getting ready for this… talk?

**Two hours ago**:

"Okay she's coming here." Three said to herself, silently celebrating and also panicking because of how nervous she is. And then she starts looking around her apartment. "Holy FUCK why am I a pig."

Three grabbed as many garbage bags as she could find and hastily filled them with every scrap of paper, empty package, or other object that simply didn't bags were completely full, she shoved them into her closet and told herself she'd take them to the bin later, Eight would be here soon. Oh lord there's crumbs all over the floor too.

"Where's my vacuum?!" Three frantically looks through each room and closet in her apartment trying to find it, she KNOWS she has one so where is it? Three did finally find her vacuum, still in its box, with a bow and a note attached.

"I assume you don't own one of these, so I am being a responsible friend and giving you one. - Marie"

Three had originally been upset at Marie for it, but now she'd have to send her a thank you card. Three vacuums up her floor as best as she can, trying desperately to get all the crumbs off the floor. It took a while, a lot longer than she had expected, but she finally gets the floor clear of crumbs. Her apartment no longer looks like a tornado went through it.

Three finally had her apartment in order. But then she realized, she's still wearing her sweat stained tank top, and an old pair of shorts that looked like she spilled tomato sauce all over (Because she had). Three's internal freakout continued. She spent so much time trying to get her apartment in order that she hadn't gotten _herself_ in order!

"Fuck, fuck fuck." Three ran into her room, once again ripping apart her clothing supply, until finally she found something suitable. Under her entire pile of discarded clothes were two shopping bags. She was glad she went clothes shopping the other day, otherwise she'd have nothing but basic shirts and dirty clothes to wear. She also grabbed some air freshener while she was out, because Eight had commented on how Three's apartment smelled like burnt cheese. Which of course it did.

Three sprays her entire apartment with the stuff, making sure she gets it into the soft fabrics so it holds the scent and gets rid of whatever odor was in it from before. She finishes basically coating her apartment with the freshener before quickly turning the can around and spraying herself as well.

"There, now I'm fresh." She states as she sets the now empty can of air freshener down. She looks at her clock and sees how long she spent cleaning and realizes that Eight should be arriving soon. She knew that she'd need time to get ready to come over, especially with how cryptic her message was, but she hadn't fully expected it to take quite this long.

Finally, her intercom buzzed and she freezes. She looks down at the empty can of air freshener next to her then over to the buzzer on the other side of the room. She then expertly throws the can at the intercom and hits the "door" button, allowing whomever it was to access the building, as Three had assumed it would be Eight.

Moments later there was a knock at her door.

**Back to present**:

Eight blushed as she looked at Three, she looked amazing. No doubt the Squid could pull of a suit if she wanted to, the button down looking so good on her was proof. She stepped through the door and Three closed the door behind her.

"S-so, what was so important that you had to talk to me in person, alone, with no witnesses?" Eight asks, trying to keep the mood light while also getting to the point quickly.

Three blushed hard, her face nearly completely orange with the warmth of her ink. Three was struggling to form words, she was biting her lip a lot and any time she tried to comment the words would get stuck in her throat.

"Three?" Eight tilts her head, looking at Three quizzically, trying to make out the thoughts that are going through the Inkling's mind.

Three took in a deep breath, looked Eight dead in the eyes, and with the split second of courage she has, she manages to squeak out.

"Eight, I think I want to be more than what we are now." Three manages to force out before her mind starts reeling. She hopes it wasn't coming on too strong but she just desperately wants to be more than just friends with the Octoling.

Eight blushed, now she was struggling to form words.

"Wh- what do you mean?" Eight asks, silently celebrating but not wanting to show it just yet just in case it's not what Three actually meant.

"I mean-" Three bit her lip again, if Eight wasn't busy freaking out she'd think it was cute. "I want to… I want to go out with you. Like on dates."

has stopped responding.

Three looks at Eight, her face turning the same shade of blue her tentacles are, Three can't decipher if it's a good response or a bad one. She waves her hands over her face trying to get her attention, she just asked her out and now she's frozen?

"Uh.. Eight?" Three waves her hand in front of Eight's face again, hoping to get some kind of response to her reveal.

As if her comment snapped her back to reality, Eight looks Three dead in the eyes, before leaping on her and tackling her to the ground. Eight was a LOT stronger than Three realized, She was squeezing her very tightly and she seemed to be… was she actually Squee-ing?

"YES! OH YES! I WOULD LOVE TO THREE!" Eight squeezes Three tighter. "I'M SO HAPPY YOU FEEL THE SAME WAY I DO!"

"Ack! Eight! I can't breathe!" Three chokes out.

"AH! Sorry!" Eight lets go of Three, blushes harshly, and stands back up. "Sorry, I just, I got excited."

Three stumbles back to her feet quickly as well. Her mind currently just screaming "STRONG GIRL" and her face plastered with an orange blush. Three had always known Eight was strong, fighting for your life through those tests in Kamabo, PLUS having a military background, meant she was definitely no pushover. But she never expected THIS.

"It uh, it's fine? I mean I'm not hurt so yeah I'm not complaining." Three what the fuck why would you say it like that?

Eight breathes a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank the gods. I just really like you and I don't wanna hurt you." Eight smiles and bounces lightly, beyond excited that Three shares her feelings.

Three just laughs and awkwardly rubs her neck, trying to hide the fact that her blush is the same colour as her tentacles and failing miserably.

"Trust me, it would take a bit more than that to hurt me. I mean, secret agent right?" Three gently bumps Eight's shoulder with her fist and gives her a smile. Eight returns the smile, but before too long they're standing there. Awkwardly. Not talking.

The silence was deafening, neither wanted to say anything but both desperately wanted to speak. Eight shuffled and looked at the floor, her right arm behind her back grabbing her left. Three was looking at her walls, her ceiling, her floor, everything except where Eight was standing. They both knew the other liked them back, and yet that somehow made the next part that much more difficult.

Finally, after eternities pass, Eight breaks the silence between the two blushing morons.

"Hey, uh, Three? Would you like to uh, s-sit on the couch and watch something?" Eight struggled to get every word out, she desperately wanted to just be close to Three. Eight didn't want to deal with all of this… AWKWARDNESS!

Three, snapping out of her dumbassery, perks up immediately and returns her gaze to the Octoling standing in front of her whom she had just professed her feelings towards.

"Oh, uh, yeah? What do you wanna watch?" Three's mind was a puddle, a puddle of goop, a puddle of useless goop. Three's mind just kept repeating "Cuddle on the couch" and that just made her blush worse.

"Uh, anything I guess?" Eight paused. She was thinking, Three could tell that Eight, and it scared her. Eight was trying to decide something and finally she makes up her mind. "Oh fuck, I'm just gonna go for it."

"What do you mea-!" Three was cut off as Eight quickly closed the distance, grabbed the collar of her shirt, and instantly pulled Three's lips against her own. Three was startled at the forwardness of the Octoling, but damn if she wasn't going to enjoy this moment. Three wrapped her arms around Eight, who in turn used her free hand to grab Three's waist and pull her closer. Three and Eight's lips felt perfect against each other, Three's were tough but with a pleasant texture, while Eight's were tender and smooth.

Eventually, however, they had to breathe. Three and Eight parted, their faces again flush with warm ink, but this time they were looking right at each other. Their breaths were shallow, their hearts were racing, and they both wanted more.

Three, not taking her hands off of Eight, glances over to the couch, then back to Eight.

"Want me to put in something we've both seen so we don't need to actually watch it?" Three smirks as she glances back to Eight. Eight giggles, smiling back at Three.

"Absolutely." Eight smiles and pecks Three on the lips quickly, encouraging the Inkling to work quickly.

Three ends up throwing in the first movie they watched together. "Splat Hard". Eight could see why Three liked it, lots of action and violence. Eight actually enjoyed it more for how excited Three got during the action heavy scenes. But Three wasn't paying attention to the movie right now, and neither was Eight.

When the movie started, Eight was just simply leaning her head on Three's shoulder. However within a few minutes, Eight's face had gotten in front of Three's. Eight and Three melted into each other. Eight would passionately kiss Three's lips and Three would graciously return the gesture.

But Eight wanted more. Eight wasn't content just to sit next to Three and kiss her, so Eight climbs on top of three and straddles her, Eight's legs falling on either side of Three's own. She places her thumb on Three's chin and smirks before leaning in for another kiss, this time gently biting Three's bottom lip, eliciting a moan from the inkling.

Eight giggles slightly, sucking on Three's bottom lip and occasionally pressing her teeth against it, Three is helpless against the assault. Just when Three thought Eight couldn't do any better, she pulls her lips away from hers, and without warning leans in closer and bites her shoulder ever so slightly less gentle than when she did it to her lip.

Three moans loudly, she's never experienced this before. And just where did EIGHT learn it? Eight moves from Three's shoulder up to her neck and again leaves a small bite whilst also sucking on it a little, causing Three to gasp. Eight pulls away again and looks at Three, the blushing mess under her.

"How was that?" Eight smirks, clearly satisfied with having taken control of the situation.

Three, through her panting and racing hearts, was only able to squeak out one word, fortunately for both of them, it's the only word Eight needs to hear.

"More."


	12. 3-1 The steps ahead

Agent 4 didn't know much. But what she DID know, was that ranked matches could either be the most fun experiences you can have, or the worst. There is no middle ground. She had been playing ranked since the arena opened in the morning. Today's mode was tower control. She'd done a handful of battles before this one so it was nearing 1pm. She'd been working hard and just managed to get her rank meter over the OK line. This match however, her teammates were letting her down.

"For fucks sake, we're in S rank! Fucking try!" Four swore as she raised her NZAP to turf some ground to make it to the tower. Her team was not doing well, they only got the tower to 80 meanwhile the opposing team had pushed back to 20. Four kept making her way to the tower, watching for enemies that may try to sneak up on her. She remembers to be turfing the ground as she goes, which results in the most glorious sound, the familiar dinging of her special being charged. Four smirks as she clips her NZAP onto her belt and pulls out the Tenta-Missile launcher. Just as she had suspected, the entire enemy team camping the tower.

"Eat this." She pulls the triggers and the missiles fly off. The enemy team leaps off the tower, stopping just before they could make any additional progress. Four uses this moment to corner the enemy. The missiles keeping them pushed back as she dispatches them with her NZAP and a couple of autobombs.

Four smirks, a team wipe, exactly what she needs to turn this around. She quickly inks the side of the tower and swims up it, claiming it for her team as it begins making its way towards the enemy base. She sees her own team coming up to the tower quickly, figures they'd come running as soon as there was no danger left. Four looks over her teammates and quickly devises a plan.

"You, with the Kensa charger! Go up ahead, try and cut them off!" Four barked. Normally people would object to being given orders, especially when being referred to by their weapon choice, but given Four had just splatted the entire enemy team, they were willing to let it slide.

"You with the Carbon Roller, swap spots with me, you'll have an easier time dealing with tower climbers than I will." The inkling with the roller nods and swims up the side of the tower as Four jumps off. The inkling on the tower disappears into the ink, shrouding them from view.

"And you, Kensa Splattershot, you're with me, stay close to the tower to reclaim it should Roller get splatted, and try and keep the enemy away from it." The Splattershot wielder nods as they all charge forwards, holding the line between them and the tower.

The inkling with the roller proved to be more than capable of holding their own, any time someone even got close to the top of the tower, a quick swing would send them right back to spawn. Four and the inkling with the Kensa Splattershot were doing a good job keeping the enemy's focus off the tower. Suction bombs and Auto bombs kept them from getting too close. The Charger had found a spot to camp that allowed an easy escape, as well as decent coverage of the tower.

The overtime horn blared, this was it. The score is now 20-37. Just a little further and Four's team will have won. With the overtime Horn having been blown, Four turns to the Splattershot wielder.

"Okay, we NEED to hold the tower, I'm heading up there to support the roller, join me if you wish, but you'd be just as useful down here."

Splattershot nods, Four swims off to the tower and climbs the side, landing on top with Roller.

"Hey, just a little further." Four offers a smile before returning to guarding the tower.

Four chances a glance at the score board

20-25

It's going to be close.

Four spots someone swimming towards the tower and raises her NZAP to aim at them. They leap out of the ink and fling a splat bomb at the tower. Four quickly kicks it off the tower before it can explode, but the thrower used the opportunity to leap on to the tower, and had a brush pointed right at Four. Before they could even get one swipe out though, a roller came crashing down onto them, sending them back to spawn.

"Nice job there, keep their attention off me and I can take care of 'em even easier." Roller smirks, proud of themselves for their accomplishment.

"Don't celebrate just yet." Four replies as she hears more enemies swimming towards them. They leap out of the ink all at once, Dualie Squelchers, NZAP 85, and an Octo Brush. Four fires at the Dualies first, knocking them back to their spawn expertly. She narrowly dodges a few shots from the enemy NZAP before returning fire with her own NZAP 89. Four doesn't dodge every shot but she manages to connect just enough to splat her opponent, and just as Four had expected, the Octo Brush got slammed by the Roller and sent back to spawn.

20-23

20-22

20-21

20-20

20-19 GAME!

"YES!" Four cheered. "We did it!"

The roller breathes a heavy sigh of relief. Four turns to them and offers a high five. They graciously accept and smack their palm against Four's. Their entire team cheered and pats Four on the back for a job well done.

Four decides that after that mess, that it's time for a break. It was also lunch time anyways, so she heads out of the Turf Lobby and returns to Inkopolis Square. She glances over to Crusty Sean's food truck, she could really go for a schwaffle. She starts walking towards it and notices that only a handful of people getting food, nice.

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her stash of tickets and sees if she has the one for the meal she wants. She scrolls through a handful of drink tickets before finally coming to the one she wants, she smiles and puts the rest of her tickets back in her bag as she finishes making her way over to the food truck. After waiting in line behind the few people ahead of her, finally it's her turn to order. She hands the ticket to Sean and smiles.

"One Double-Fried Super Shwaffle please!" Four smiles excitedly, she's put off eating too long and she's going to ENJOY this schwaffle.

"Coming right up! It'll be ready in a moment." Crusty Sean smiles in response as he turns to cook her desired meal.

Four walks to the side and waits for her order. She pulls out her phone and idly scrolls through the news, not a lot has happened recently that's noteworthy so it's a short scroll. She sighs and turns to scrolling through SplatNet to see if there's any cool gear for sale. Before she can look for too long however, she hears a ding and turns to see her Double-Fried Super Shwaffle waiting for her.

"Here ya go kid, enjoy!" Sean smiles and waves to her as he turns back to the till to manage the other customers he's going to have since the lunch rush from the battles are coming.

Four smiles and snags her food before trying to find a place to sit. Lets see, there's a Jelly asleep on that table, so that's out of the question. Sat at another table is an Octoling just staring at her phone, typical. Oh there's a free table! The one next to it seems to be shared by an Inkling and an Octoling who seem far too interested in eacho- wait.

Four walks over to the pair, squinting as she looks at the Inkling. She's got an incredibly toned body, scars all over the place, but the thing she was looking for she spots when the Octoling says something causing her to laugh. Her head lifts up slightly and Four is able to spot the familiar mark on the underside of her chin. A mark that, in the right light, looks like an inkling in squid form.

Four walks over and taps the Inkling on the shoulder. The Inkling in question turns quickly, murder in her eyes and her fist raised ready to make someone who's awake be not awake, until she sees just who it is that took her attention.

"Alex?" Four asks, hope shining in her eyes.

"Jay?!" Her fist drops and she smiles widely.

The two stare at each other with stunned silence between them, before the girl now named "Alex" leaps out of her chair and tackles Four, or, 'Jay' to the ground with a hug.

"Oh my gods! I haven't seen you since before… well it's been a while!" Alex chuckles, the Octoling she was with partially puzzled but also partially amused at the scene.

"ALEX! MY PELVIS!" Jay cries, Alex was always strong but a tackle hug was not something she was prepared for.

"Oh fuck sorry!" She climbs off and gets back to her feet, Jay does the same, both blushing awkwardly.

"I didn't know you were back in Inkopolis, last I heard you went off on some soul searching adventure or something to the mountains." Jay tries to get herself under control, still just ecstatic to see Alex again.

"Hah, classic Jay. Right to the point." Alex smirks and lightly jabs Jay in the shoulder.

"Har har, but seriously, why didn't you tell me you were back in town? I missed you!" Jay says, a little grumpy with Alex still. "Granted I hadn't moved here until after you left on that adventure, but still!"

Alex blushes and rubs the back of her neck.

"I uh, well my head's been a little all over the place lately." she pauses. "But hey, I'm back!"

"I otta splat you for not telling me! I am the best cousin you could ever have how could you just leave me in the dark!" Jay poses dramatically, her hand over her chest and her nose to the sky. Alex just rolls her eyes.

"Oh woe is you, I've only been back for like, a couple months. I'm still getting settled." Alex retorts, taking her seat again across from her date.

The Octoling at the table speaks up, having previously just been watching the events unfold.

"Wait, you have a cousin?" She looks to Alex quizzically.

Alex sighs.

"Yes Eight, I have a cousin, and no, her and I are NOT going to challenge the Squid Sisters for 'pop icon cousins' my ink curdles at the very thought." Alex smirks, earning a chuckle from her Octoling girlfriend.

"Oh my GODS Alex, you are impossible." Jay chuckles, causing Alex to again roll her eyes.

"So what if I am?" Alex squints at Jay, but then looks to the ground. "You uh, might wanna pick up that Shwaffle before a Jelly eats it."

Jay looks at the Shwaffle she was going to eat, then back to Alex, then back to the Shwaffle. Sighing, defeated, she snags some napkins off the table.

"You owe me a Shwaffle." Jay picks up the mess on the ground and tosses it in the can. "You made me waste an entire ticket."

"It's your fault for not setting it down before talking to me." Alex shrugs as she sits back down. "Last time you tapped me on the shoulder like that you got knocked across the house."

Jay glares at Alex. Then her gaze shifts to the Octoling sitting with her.

"Oh my gods, where are my goddamn manners. I'm Jay, it's nice to meet you. How do you know my cousin here?" Jay extends her arm and outstretches her hand towards the Octoling sitting with Alex.

Eight glances to the Inkling she's with, who gives her a nod, and she reaches out and shakes Jay's hand.

"I'm Eight! Well, that's what I go by. My memory's a bit flakey and my real name was one of the flakes." She shrugs. "And as to how I know your cousin? Well, she kinda saved my life. She also tried to kill me, but I was brainwashed at the time so I think it's only fair. Well and she tried to kill me a second time but SHE was brainwashed that time."

Alex chuckles. Eight was always so brutally honest it was adorable.

"Wait wait, what?" Jay was clearly confused, not being able to piece together the story, which to be fair, was a very complicated story in and of itself.

Alex just sighed, and chuckled to herself.

As if being cued, Eight, Alex, and Jay's phones all go off at once, prompting all of them to glance awkwardly at the others before pulling out their phones and seeing what the mess is about.

* * *

Marie: Yo finally, this group chat setting is way more difficult than it needs to be.

Callie: Oh chill Marie, you just missed a button, nothing to get worked up over :D

Agent 3: Oh my GODS Eight and I are on a date, and y'all just drop this on me? Also my cousin is now standing next to me.

TheGr8Agent8: 3 almost drop kicked her, I could see the look in her eyes.

Agent 3: And I would've looked beautiful doing it

TheGr8Agent8: You always look beautiful ;)

Marie: COULD YOU TWO STOP FLIRTING FOR FIVE SECONDS!

Agent 3: No

TheGr8Agent8: No

4gent A: Wait hold on a second, ALEX?

Agent 3: No fucking way, JAY?

Marie: What? Do you know each other already?

Agent 3: Oh my fucking gods I can't believe this. AGENT 4 IS MY GODDAMN COUSIN.

* * *

"Wait, you're an Agent too?!" Jay says, looking Alex dead in the eyes.

"Uh yeah? I could ask YOU the same thing!" Alext retorts, pointing her phone at her.

Jay grabbed a chair and placed it next to the table Alex and Eight were at, and sat down.

"I need information." She looks Alex dead in the eyes, her face showing no signs of wavering. "Spill it. What happened. You fucking dissappeared! For like four years!"

Alex sighs heavily.

"Sorry about this Eight, I hoped today would be normal but I guess you get my whole backstory now." She turns to face Jay. "You wanna know what happened? Here it is"

Three then goes on to explain how she met the old Cap'n, how she found herself in the middle of an uprising Octarian army, and how while she had some help, it was largely just HER against the great OctoWeapons, the Octarians, and the large number of Octolings in their rising army.

"After that things died down a bit, a stray Zapfish would go missing every now and again, but those were always fairly easy to reclaim. A year after that was when Callie and Marie had their big split, I didn't talk to either of them much after that, but I kept in contact with Cap'n Cuttlefish." Alex explains, putting emphasis on the fact that she kept in contact with their grandfather.

"It was a result of staying in contact with him that I found out about an organization called Kamabo. He and I went in to investigate, however before we crossed the threshold between Octarian and Kamabo territory, Eight here ambushed us. She was still under Octavio's control so I don't hold it against her." Alex gives Eight a playful nudge and Eight just blushes.

"Alright that sort of makes sense so far, but there's still two whole years unaccounted for in your story" Jay presses, wanting more.

"The next two years were… Hell. I was separated from the Cap'n, though apparently he'd been with Eight. I was on my own. Kamabo is the worst hellscape imaginable, and I didn't even see the worst of it. Octarians and Octolings were put through some kind of chamber and when they came out the other side, they had no more life signs… but they were still standing." Alex shudders, Eight puts her hand on her shoulder to emotionally support her.

"The octarians generally just had some kind of distraught look on their face, like they didn't like where they were but they also didn't care either way. I suppose that's just what the lower level Octarians are like. But the Octolings? Man their scared expressions and desperate attempts to get free before being… sanitized… still haunt my dreams."

Eight leans in closer and rests her head on Alex's shoulder, hugging her arm tightly. Alex immediately feels her hearts relax and slow, she realizes she'd riled herself up and gives herself a moment to relax. Finally after a few moments, she's breathing normally again.

"Thanks Eight." She smiles and glances down at her girlfriend. "I needed that."

"I know." Eight kisses her on the cheek. "I needed it too."

Alex takes in a deep breath, holds it for a second, then lets it out.

"Okay, to cap of Kamabo from my perspective. They have a very large army of basically undead. They patrol their own grounds constantly. I got so little sleep that days merged more than I thought. Honestly I thought it had maybe been a few months, not two whole years."

"That's why you reacted so bad when you found out!" Eight chimes in.

"Yeah I felt all that guilt from losing the Cap'n all over again, it's like my emotions decided since I only thought it was a few months that I needed to make up for the time I DIDN'T feel guilty or some shit like that. That's what my therapist said anyways."

"Wait, you see a therapist?" Jay inquires "you seemed so… against that when we were young."

"Yeah well, when we were young I hadn't prevented a war, and then had my mind taken over by a psychotic telephone."

"You what now?"

"Oh right, we didn't get to that part. Yeah so I eventually found the Cap'n and Eight, inside a huge ass blender of all things. It was going to melt their essence into the 'ink' that Kamabo uses. I crashed through the ceiling just in time to prevent it, but in doing so I got some of that Kamabo shit on my face and it took over my mind. Eight could tell you this part better since I was effectively unconsious for it, but to make a long story short, she saved the world while I was incapacitated."

"Well, I helped. Pearl did the finishing move that actually saved the world." Eight interjects.

"Don't sell yourself short. You were equally important if not more important. Pearl may have toasted her vocal chords, but you're the only reason her finishing move was even effective. Plus, you did all that in HEELS!"

"Alright alright, I guess I can take SOME of the credit." Eight laughed awkwardly.

"Good" Three smiled.

Jay nods from across the table.

"Mhmm good yes. So how did you two start dating? Since I'm just getting y'all's life story now."

"Y'all's?" Eight bleps her tongue a few times, like the word doesn't taste good in her mouth.

"It's slang from back home, I've almost stopped using it but apparently she hasn't" Alex laughs pointing at Jay.

Jay sticks out her tongue and rolls her eyes.

"You've had three whole years to adjust, I've been here what, five months?"

"Wait a second, JAY YOU'RE 18 NOW!" Alex cheers. "I can't believe I missed it!"

Jay just laughs and waves her hand to dismiss the thought.

"It's okay Alex, really. I mean given where you were during the time I turned 18 I don't exactly blame you for not being there." Jay chuckles. "I'm just so happy to see you again!"

"It's been too long Jay, far too long." Alex smiles warmly. "And Eight, this is the cousin I mentioned a while back. Jay and I were super close, people thought we were siblings all the time."

Eight looks between the two inklings next to her, she can certainly see the familial resemblance, though Three certainly did look a number of years older. Jay seemed to be on the shorter side of the two, though it wasn't by much, maybe a couple inches at most. Three, er, Alex, also seemed to be very… protective of Jay. Not that one could pick up on it through her words, but her body language and actions certainly showed this.

"But… I am currently on a date with Eight, so we can catch up later alright?" Alex says trying to get back to the date she was graciously enjoying with Eight before her cousin whom she hadn't seen in years and missed very dearly came up and got tackled by her.

"It's for the best, I think I have to take my E soon anyways." Jay's phone beeps shortly after she finishes her thought, confirming her suspicions. "Yep just like I thought. Catch ya later Alex! You too Eight!"

With a wave Jay leaves, Three would have to make a mental note to replace the schwaffle she debacled. She was happy she got to see her cousin again. But right now she has more pressing matters, like how adorable Eight is.

"So yeah that was my cousin, she's great even if we don't see eye to eye all the time." Three says, chuckling to herself at the memory of a few of their disagreements in the past.

"She seems nice." Eight smiles, but then quickly turns the attention of the conversation to something that's been bugging her. "Also… Alex?"

Three sighs, she knew this was coming and so it might as well be over with now.

"Alex is my real name yes… but since I moved to Inkopolis and became an agent, I've just gone by Three. I told Cap'n my name, same with Callie and Marie, but since it's usually all business when I'm with them they insisted on using agent numbers… and since that's the only social interaction I really had since moving here, I just kinda got used to being called 'Three' - It wasn't until Jay showed up that I had even considered that I _hadn't_ told you my name yet." Three laughs awkwardly while rubbing the back of her head.

"Does it bother you?" Eight asks, looking her in the eyes with a worried expression.

"What?" Three looks back, unsure why Eight seems so worried all of a sudden.

"Not being called by your name, does it bother you?" Eight takes hold of Three's hand, squeezing it lightly, hoping she's not treading on uncomfortable territory.

"Uh, I guess I never really thought about it. I mean if I'm being honest I think I kinda prefer Three now, I've been going by it for so long." Three blushes and rubs her neck awkwardly.

"Alright, if you're sure." Eight smiles, squeezing her hand again.

"Positive" Three smiles back and leans in, pressing her lips against Eight's.

Three and Eight spent the rest of their date talking about Three's past, Eight was curious and Three felt it was only fair. Three revealed how growing up that her and Jay were incredibly close, they were cousins but due to circumstances they were raised in the same house. Three was very proud of Jay for making it to Inkopolis, just like Jay was excited for Three when she left. Three hated saying goodbye to Jay all those years ago, but she had no choice, she had to leave to get on with her life.

Three also recounted the events that lead to her and Jay living under the same household. Jay's mother was less than enthusiastic about the fact that she was a girl, and kept being remarkably disrespectful. Without going into detail, one day things got out of hand and Jay was taken from her as a result. Jay found it refreshing how accepting Three and her family were of her, and anyone who dared to be mean to Jay got a face full of Three's fists. Three spent a lot of time in detention protecting her cousin. Three didn't care, she'd rather get in trouble than let her cousin get hurt.

Three was very proud of her for becoming an agent as well, she heard about what "Agent 4" had been able to accomplish and knew it was no small feat. Three would have to congratulate her for a job well done later on, and also just to catch up with her properly rather than awkwardly after spilling her schwaffle.

But alas, all things must end and Three and Eight's time together comes to a close. The sun is starting to set and Inkopolis square is shutting down for the night. Three and Eight sigh as they realize that they're going to have to go home soon.

"Well, aside from that whole fiasco with Jay I'd say today went pretty well!" Three smiles at Eight, who blushes and smiles back to her.

"I agree, I always love spending time with you, Three." Eight leans in and pecks Three on the lips, causing both of them to blush profusely.

"Hey, I'll see you tomorrow right? We've been put on guard duty together so Cap'n can get some rest." Three asks, gathering her things together so she can head home.

"Yeah, I'm just afraid of what Octavio might say… he gave me the stink eye when I first arrived in Octo Canyon but with Callie and Marie there he kept his mouth shut." Eight comments as she, too, gathers her things into her bag.

"Alright well… I'll see you tomorrow then!" Three smiles, excited to have another chance to be with Eight. "Oh by the way, did Callie ever end up designing you your own Hero outfit? I'd hate if they were going to make you wear the same outfit you had in the metro. Not that it doesn't look good on you though."

Three blushes thinking about how Eight's outfit in the metro seemed to compliment her figure. Eight just rolls her eyes and gives Three another peck on the lips.

"She did, you'll see it tomorrow. I was able to give her some input on it so I hope you like it." Eight smiles and blushes. "Anyways, I should get going. I can hear Marina's lecture from here if I take too much longer to get home."

Three chuckles and nods, saying her goodbyes to Eight. Three hikes her bag up onto her back and begins the trek home. Things are starting to look up finally, she can't wait to see where things go from here.


	13. 3-2 Guard Duty

Three had finally purchased a new alarm clock, it was a durable model that was designed for people like her who would slam their fists down onto it mercilessly. It was advertised as being able to withstand a hydraulic press designed for lifting cars. Three apparently has far more strength than a hydraulic press because now there's a hole in her nightstand along with the shattered remains of the alarm clock that was sitting there the night before.

"Heavy duty my ass." Three says, sitting up and stretching her arms to get herself prepped for the day. She slides the ice pack off her eye and sets it on the nightstand, making a mental note to put it back in the freezer later. She was eternally grateful to Marie for finding out how much Kamabo Sludge hates the cold. She'd finally able to exist without the pain that had previously been caused by her scar.

Three tosses her covers aside and makes her way into the bathroom. Normally she wouldn't shower in the morning but today was different, she was going on guard duty with Eight and she wasn't about to show up smelling like body odor and indifference. Her shower is quick and uneventful, she simply washes herself and when she's done she turns the shower off. Three stops by the bathroom mirror to look at her affected eye. The iris was still teal, but the area around it had lost most of its unnatural colour. Now it looked a lot more like most of her other scars. Though if you looked closely, there was still a little bit of discolouration. Three shrugged, it had been the same for a while now so this was likely as healed as it was going to become. So as long as she doesn't get infected with any more sanitization sludge, she should be fine. Maybe she could even stop using the ice pack.

Three shrugs off her thought process, she was going to end up being late if she just dwelled on her thoughts without care. She heads out of the bathroom and starts the process of getting dressed. Sheldon had graciously repaired her Hero headset, though he did keep insisting on her just switching to the new one. Three said she liked the look of the old one and would prefer to keep using it. She slips into her usual hero uniform, zipping the jacket up and sliding the safety vest over top. Once she's got them on she buttons her cape around her neck. If Jay saw Three in her cape she'd say Three was being dramatic. Which she was, but that's beside the point. Three takes a moment to look herself over in the mirror, her hero shoes are by the door so she'd but them on when she got there, but she had on her usual shorts and hero jacket combo, complete with its cape. Her hero headset was in her hands at the moment, she'd put them on once she got out the door.

Satisfied with how everything sits, Three walks out of her bedroom and switches off the light. Three has a quick bowl of cereal for breakfast. Nothing fancy but it gets the job done. She scrolls idly through her feed on her phone as she eats, the stages for the day are pretty cool, Splat Zones is the ranked mode and it's on Wahoo World and Starfish Main Stage. The regular turf wars rotation is Inkblot and Humpback Pumptrack. Jay had always been enthusiastic about wanting to play turf wars and the various ranked modes, Three was sure that she'd be busy with those today.

Three finishes up her cereal, pockets her phone and puts her bowl and spoon into the dishwasher before slipping on her hero shoes and heading out the door. Once the door is locked behind her she slips her headset on and heads to the roof to the jump pad. Shortly after, she lands in Inkopolis square. Three takes a moment to examine her surroundings. It's early so there's not a lot of life in the square yet, mostly just jellies wandering around. Though there are a handful of Inklings and Octolings wandering the square as well. The Octolings seemed wary of her, and she understood why. Eight didn't even have most of her memories and she was initially wary of Three, so she understood why her being in full agent gear might make them nervous.

Three just smiles and gives a wave to anyone who looks her way, the Octolings generally look confused at this gesture but wave back and then return to their activities. Finally Three is confident there's no wandering eyes on her, and she makes her way over to the entrance to Octo Canyon and jumps in.

Three emerges on the other side, her Hero Shot clipped to her belt, and makes her way over to where Cap'n and Octavio are sitting.

"Hey Cap'n, good to see you again!" Three smiles and pulls him into a quick hug. "Things have been so busy that I haven't had time to stop by. How are you?"

The old Cap'n just chuckles, Three's enthusiasm has more than returned and he's grateful. He knows that part of it is because Marie found a way to make Three's physical pain stop, another part is because she's been going to therapy to help her deal with her traumatic memories, but a large part is Eight, who came to the surface in the most difficult way possible, and started spending time with Three. Three had needed more friends and the Cap'n knew this, but he hadn't expected Three and Eight to become quite as close as they did. But he wasn't complaining.

"I'm good, I'm good. How are you? That eye giving you any trouble?" Cap'n asks, pointing his bamboozler he uses as a cane at her afflicted eye.

"Other than a little bit of fuzziness in vision clarity, nothing. The pain stopped thanks to Marie's discoveries." Three smiles, but then her brow furrows and she looks around the landing of the Canyon. "Where's Eight? I totally thought she'd be here before I was."

"I'm sure she'll be along shortly, but sadly I must be going. Those granddaughters of mine are insisting I go with them to Arowana Mall for some big sale." The Cap'n chuckles before making his way over to the way back to Inkopolis. "Stay safe Agent Three, if you need anything you know how to contact us."

Three waves and the Cap'n disappears into the grate, returning him to Inkopolis. Three decides she may as well head over to where Octavio is, make sure he's not plotting anything sinister. Though from what she's heard Octavio has come to terms with where he is. Three walks over and sits down in the chair which Cap'n occupied before Three arrived to relieve him of guard duty.

"So, DJ Octavio… 'sup?" Three asks, looking Octavio in his eyes. Octavio is visibly surprised by this… conversational attempt by Agent 3.

"I'm trapped in a snowglobe, what could possibly be "up" other than that?" Octavio snarls, his eyebrows pointing down between his eyes.

"Relax edgelord, I'm just here to make sure you don't break out and steal the great zapfish again." Three rolls her eyes, she's not too thrilled about having to entertain this criminal mastermind by herself but hopefully Eight will be there soon.

Octavio sighs, his demeanor changes drastically and his body seems to relax. He looks away from the agent in front of him and into the distance, seemingly letting his thoughts drift elsewhere. Anywhere but the moment.

"I'm sorry. I know I can never truly atone for my actions, but I am sorry." Octavio says, still looking into the distance. "I thought I was helping my people, we were going to take the surface back. But now I find those who have been freed by the inkantation have not only made it to the surface, but have been welcomed into society as though there was nothing wrong with them, like there never was a war between our species… It's caused me to do some thinking."

Octavio turns and looks at Three, she's staring right at him with an interested expression on her face. She's fascinated by what he has to say. Weather she believes his words is a different story altogether but he's just happy to have someone listen to him. Craig never entertained him for very long when he started getting speachy so he was going to take this opportunity and run with it.

"I realized that I was going about it all wrong. We don't need to reclaim the surface at all. The inklings in Inkopolis would just welcome us as though we were one and the same." Octavio lets out a heavy sigh, it hurts his hearts to admit how wrong he was, but he needs to say his peace. "I should've realized this sooner but I was blinded by my own desire for revenge and now I am paying the price for it."

Three just rolls her eyes. Marie had told her what Octavio said shortly after she discovered the weakness in Kamabo Sludge, so Three to a degree knew this song and dance already. What she wasn't prepared for was how sincere his words would seem. She did think that a lot of Octarian technology was far above what inkling society had been able to come up with, so maybe if he had changed his tune they could work out a deal of some kind. But for now there was no way for him to be trusted.

"Well that's all well and good, but what you did with Callie is still completely inexcusable. She kept wanting to put those damn shades back on, Flo eventually got tired of seeing how distraught Callie was and made her a knockoff pair. They look the same but they don't take over her mind." Three says, no real seriousness in her voice, just spouting off facts about what happened as a result of Octavio's actions.

"I know, I accept that." Octavio sighs and looks to the ground. "Wait, the real ones _were_ destroyed right? You do not want her mixing them up."

"Relax, they've been reduced to dust according to Marie." Three rolls her eyes. Octavio had a lot more to say than Three had initially expected.

Finally, Eight jumps through the grate, and Three realizes why she had wanted to keep her hero outfit a surprise. Her shoes are reminiscent of the armoured shoes Three would get on her missions, Eight also had on the same bike shorts that Three did, and then Three notices her jacket. Her jacket is almost identical to Three's, it's a dark grey coat with a safety vest over top, though Eight didn't have a cape on. Finally, her hero headset was somewhat similar to Three's, with similar bands wrapping around the back of her head, but they were more rounded to accommodate the different shape of her ears.

Three can't help but blush as she realizes that Eight definitely wanted her hero uniform to match Three's own. She stands up from her chair and makes her way over to her.

"Eight! There you are!" Three smiles, pulling Eight into a hug, which Eight graciously returns. "I was beginning to worry you weren't gonna show!"

"Sorry, sorry, Pearl kept insisting on making sure everything sat right on me, she kept hemming my jacket to no end. I kept telling her it was fine but she kept insisting." Eight rolls her eyes and smiles, she is grateful to Pearl for everything but sometimes she can be overly parent-y.

"Hey, at least you're here now and I don't have to watch this old grump by myself!" Three smiles and takes hold of Eight's hand as they make their way over to the cabin, sitting on the bench outside of it, still able to see Octavio from where they are.

The rest of the day goes by uneventfully, Three and Eight talk more about Three's past, and how Three is finally warming up to Clam Blitz. Eventually though, they both realize that they are getting hungry. It's been a long day and they skipped lunch, partially because of guard duty, and partially because they were so enthralled with each other. They'd only been dating for a couple weeks at this point so everything the other had to say was still fascinating to them.

"Hey it looks like the sun's starting to go down, I have some spare tickets so I could run grab us some food from Crusty Sean if you wouldn't mind watching Octo dumbass for a bit by yourself. I promise I won't take long." Three smiles, silently hoping Eight says yes because she's been dying for a Seanwich for two hours.

"Yeah sure! I mean, I defeated an evil AI and saved Inkopolis, how difficult could it be to watch a single trapped octopus?" Eight giggles, earning a giggle in response from Three.

"Alright well, be careful, he's broken out once before." Three says as she stands to leave. "Any requests? I've got a ticket for just about anything off the menu."

"Uhhh, whatever the medium sized Schwaffle is called, I had it last time I got something from him and it was really good." Eight replies, smiling at Three and the thought of getting some food in her system.

"Alright I'll be back soon!" Three waves to Eight and jumps through the grate.

Eight now was alone with Octavio for the first time. She didn't think it would bother her until she noticed him staring at her, she couldn't shake the feeling that he knew her somehow. Something she very much didn't like. She decides it would be best to just get the inevitable conversation over with, at least this way maybe he'll stop looking at her like that. She stands from the bench and makes her way over to his snowglobe, taking a seat on the chair Three was occupying when she arrived.

"What?" Eight asks sharply, causing Octavio to recoil slightly, as he wasn't expecting such a cold response.

"What do you mean, "What?"?" Octavio retorts.

"You keep staring at me, I wanna know why." Eight says, staring directly into Octavio's eyes.

Octavio sighs and rubs the bridge between his eyes with one of his tentacles.

"You really do have almost no memory don't you?" Octavio asks disappointed, crossing his tentacles in front of him.

"No, I really don't." Eight scoffs, glaring right into his eyes. "But I remember enough to know I don't like you."

Octavio shrinks, he wondered how much she actually knew. Did she remember everything about what lead her to being in Kamabo, or did she only remember bits and pieces; or did she possibly not remember anything from that time period.

"Look. I don't know what you remember, but just… please know I'm sorry for what I did." Octavio looks to the ground through the snowglobe, defeated.

"And what, may I ask, _did_ you do?" Eight sneers, trying to keep a strong facade so Octavio doesn't attempt to take advantage of her.

Octavio doesn't speak, he continues looking to the ground in shame. Eight's gaze burning a hole through his soul as every passing second makes him wish more and more that he hadn't ever broken out in the first place. He wished he could take every mistake back, every tiny little misstep, every single miscalculated action. Finally he brings up the courage to speak, though it's through a more hushed voice than before.

"I sent you on a suicide mission, I knew you weren't good enough to defeat Three on your own. You'd give her a good fight and maybe even injure her, but you were never going to win that fight. I sent you to die." Octavio closes his eyes in shame, he's come face to face with his own mistakes and it's eating away at his being.

"Why?" Was the only response Eight gave. She didn't sound mad, she didn't sound like she was ready to rip his throat out from his neck, instead she just sounded… confused. "Why send me on the mission. There has to be a reason you wanted me gone."

Octavio looks up at her, expecting to see fire and rage in her eyes but instead sees only questioning. She's looking for the pieces of her past that her mind can't fill in, and Octavio knows that once she starts remembering, she's going to hate him more than anyone else in the Splatoon.

"I don't want to say too much." Octavio says, trying to keep his cool. "But, you were the leader of an Octoling uprising. I sent you to your death to cripple their efforts. As you are both still alive and I am presently imprisoned, I think it's safe to say I failed miserably. Again."

Eight doesn't flinch, but her eyes close and her brow furrows as she seems to be trying to recall a memory, she struggles for a moment before opening her eyes again and looking at Octavio.

"I've got all the time in the world. You are going to tell me exactly how I went from being in your army, to being sent on a suicide mission."


	14. 3-3 The scars of the past

The battlefield was gruesome. Splatters of magenta and teal ink covered vast stretches of land. Rebel Octolings could be seen fleeing the scene as magenta ink rained down from the other side. Octo commanders lined the border between rebellion territory and Octavio's domain, and with Octavio back in command, his forces were making a push. Octolings from behind the Octo Commanders and Octo Snipers peered through their Hypnoshades and made their way onto the battlefield. The rebellion knew they were not going to win this fight and so they were fleeing to regroup and fight another day. As Octavio's armies made their way closer to the Rebel base, the octolings inside were frantically trying to gather their intel and get out before they were met with an untimely end.

"Takeshi! What's your status?" A female Octoling called into her communicator as she ran through the compound, her Octo Shot clipped at her belt and flopped against her leg as she ran, ready to be equipped at a moments notice. "We need to get out of here NOW!"

Her communicator lit up and Takeshi's voice rang through the speaker, relieving her slightly that he can still hear and answer her call. She doesn't stop her sprint however, if he calls for backup she needs to be ready to support. She furrows her brow and listens to the voice calling out from her communicator as the wind rushes past her, making her small tentacles beside her face flap slightly.

"We're almost done! We just need to finish loading the map data so we have it with us when we make a new base!" His voice sounds frantic, no doubt he's seen battle recently and is guarding the communications room. "I handled a few Octotroopers but I'm sure reinforcements are coming."

"Hold on Tak, I'm gonna see if I can draw them away from you. I might be able to buy you a few more minutes!" She calls back into her communicator as she unclips her Octo Shot and readies it for battle, flipping the safety off with a quick twist of her thumb. She takes a moment to quickly check the straps of her ink tank, making sure it's secured.

"Kiaria no! Regroup with the rest of the rebels at the fallback point! We need you _alive!_" Takeshi's voice calls out in distress. Kiaria knew he meant well but she could handle herself. Besides, that intel would be far more useful than just her. She was a competent fighter, you don't get to special ops just by having a pretty face, but she was just one soldier. If she died defending her friends, that means they have just that much greater chance of surviving to fight another day.

"You don't give the orders here soldier, now get that data and get out of here!" She calls into her communicator before clipping it back on her belt and making her way through the winding tunnels that lead to the coms room. She could hear methodic marching which meant there was hypnotized Octolings nearby. She ventured a guess that they were headed to Takeshi's position as his hostility towards them would've raised an alert to the rest of the hypnotized forces.

Just as she had expected, there were more Octolings outside the door than Takeshi would've been able to handle on his own. She screams in rage as she materializes a Splat Bomb and throws it into the middle of the pack causing them to split. The confusion created by this allows her to quickly drop to her knees, sliding on the ground as she passes by two dazed Octolings. She stops quickly and turns, her Octo Shot firing teal ink with force causing her victims to explode into ink. She quickly turns her head to see another Octoling, now recovering from their daze, readying their weapon to fire upon her. She quickly sweeps their legs out from under them with her own before making them too an ink stain on the floor.

She bows her head in shame for a moment. She doesn't like how many of her kind have to die because Octavio continues his iron grip on Octarian society, but she knows that their sacrifices won't be in vain. The more he tightens his grip, the more Octolings slip right through his fingers. She wishes that this was the end of the fight, but she knows that more will be upon her shortly, she can already hear their footsteps.

"I'm sorry brothers and sisters, may the gods be merciful to your souls." Kiaria says under her breath as she readies herself for the coming army. Her feet planted on the ground firmly, ready to kick off or dodge at a moments notice. She slows her breathing and closes her eyes, the world slowing down around her, every step of the enemy echoing in her ears.

The platoon of Octoling soldiers round the corner, Kiraria's eyes shoot open and she lets out an ink curdling scream as she charges right for them. They turn to face her and the Octoling in the front raises their weapon to fire, but Kiaria kicks it out of their hands before they can pull the trigger. The stunned Octoling is now acting as a temporary barrier between her and the rest of the platoon, so she uses this to her advantage. She reaches out, grabs them by the collar of their Neo Octoling armour, and quickly pulls them towards her and lifting them off the ground as she spins. Then, using the momentum from the centrifugal motion, she throws them into the rest of the platoon they arrived with. Shamefully Kiaria raises her weapon again, and the ink leaves the nozzle rapidly as the group of assailants becomes more ink stains on the walls and floor.

Kiaria clips her weapon back on her belt and dusts herself off. She bows silently to her fallen combatants. It wasn't their fault Octavio had them hypnotized, but there was no way to save them without the Inkantation, which unfortunately they weren't able to record. She takes a moment to take inventory of the situation. She can't hear any more soldiers marching towards her, so likely they're regrouping. If they got caught in the wave of Octavio's forces marching in they'd be toast, but with them gone for the moment they just might have a chance to escape. She unclips her communicator and flips it open, her hands still shaking and her breath still heavy from her encounters, but she pushes through to get a message to her comrades.

"Takeshi what's your status? The coms room is clear of hostiles." Kiaria says into her communicator, still standing between the hallway that leads to the entrance of their base facing Octarian territory.

"We've got -rything we ne-, we're ready to -egroup with the rest -f the rebels!" His voice calls from the fuzzing speaker of her communicator. She was losing connection which meant interference. The only time they ever had interference was when… _oh no._

"Takeshi, get the FUCK out of here NOW! That is an order!" Kiaria yells into her communicator, unclipping her weapon from her belt and breaking out into a sprint towards the entrance of their base. "He's here, get out and regroup with the rebels!"

Kiaria doesn't wait for a response, she throws her communicator on the ground and stomps it under her boot. She wasn't going to risk the safety of her comrades by letting Octavio hack directly into their coms. She continues her journey towards the entrance of their base, praying silently that everyone would have the time to escape with what little she could buy them. Kiaria kicks open the door with such force it flies off the hinges and lands a few feet away. She runs out, Octo Shot primed, and enters what she believes will be the last fight of her life.

Octo commanders keep her pinned in the small area she has, with Octo Snipers keeping her on her toes. She dodges a shot from a sniper with a roll to the side as several Octolings march into the fray. They're all pointing their Octo Shot's at her and she knows she has no choice, but it still hurts her soul every time she has to end one of her own kind. She furrows her brow and pushes aside any thoughts she might have about friendships that could be made, and instead focuses on the task at hand, saving the friends she already has. The Octolings attempt to surround her but they fail to realize that Kiaria is primed for her special attack. She flips a token off her belt and slams it into her weapon, a triumphant ringing of a bell can be heard as Kiaria's hair begins to glow and appear almost on fire. She dodges a shot then leaps into the air, activating her special. Her ink creates a protective layer around the outside of her body as she rises higher into the air than any normal jump, then quickly she comes flying back to the ground with her fist pointed right at it. In an explosion of teal ink, the enemy combatants are dispatched.

Kiaria raises her weapon again, ready to face another wave, only to be hit suddenly over the side of the head by a blunt object. Kiaria falls to the ground, her vision fuzzy and her head spinning. She's not able to hear or see very much, but what she does see is a large figure standing over her, and only a couple words that passed their lips.

"...If she doesn't talk, put the shades on her and send her after Three…"

Kiaria awakens in a cold room, there's not enough light for her eyes to make out any details but what she can tell is that her situation isn't good. She can make out that she's on some kind of table, it's angled so that her feet are towards the floor but she's still leaning backwards. She can also feel a mild burning on her wrists meaning she's been restrained, no doubt those ink injectors will leave a mark. Regardless, she's trapped, but she hopes she gave her comrades enough time to escape.

Then she realizes there's an unfamiliar taste in her mouth, it was strangely metallic and almost made her mouth feel numb. She didn't have to spend very long guessing what the taste was from as shortly thereafter she felt a drop of ink leak from her forehead and drip down over her lips.

"Perfect, I'm leaking." Kiaria groaned. Now aware of the break in her skin on her forehead, she begins to realize that almost her entire body was in seething agony. It felt like she'd been dragged by her ankle all the way from the old Rebel compound to… wherever she was now. Which most likely she was. Tiny spots of her body flared up in sharp, precise pain. It was like she had a million tiny cuts and scrapes, each individually complaining about existing at the same time.

Her evaluation of her body's condition was interrupted by the sound of a door opening, followed by the sound of footsteps. The lights flick on and Kiaria winces as her eyes adjust to the brightness.

"MotherFUCKER!" She spits. "A little warning would've been nice, ass."

The Octoling that entered the room doesn't pay her any attention, they simply walk up next to the table she's strapped to and wheel out a small cart. Kiaria can't make out what's on the cart and that fact scares her greatly.

"You are going to tell us exactly where your rebel friends are hiding." The Octoling states, as if somehow that would make her just outright say where they are. She'd look them in the eyes but the Hypnoshades that sit over their eyes prevent this.

"I'll die before I reveal their location, you can tell that bastard Octavio he's wasting his time trying to get anything out of me." Kiaria growls, she knows they'll try other methods of extracting information from her, but she's determined not to break. Or maybe they'll just off her for not being cooperative. Octavio's always been the impatient type.

"Very well then." The Octoling grabs something off the table and brings it up for Kiraria to see, it's a syringe with an unknown substance inside. The Octoling smirks and flicks the side of the syringe as they push lightly on the plunger to remove any air. Quickly the needle is jabbed into her thigh, she lets out a quiet wince of pain and the substance is injected into her body. She feels the world around her start spinning and her consciousness waning. The last thing she remembers seeing before she blacked out was a pair of shades being placed over her eyes, and flickering, dancing lights in front of her eyes.


	15. 3-4 The pain of remembering

"And that's it… I sent you after Three thinking you'd be no match for her and your rebellion would die with you." Octavio states as he stares firmly at the ground. That new weed growing out of that crack was _very_ interesting to him all of a sudden. "Obviously… I was wrong."

Eight on the other hand, was unsure how to feel about everything. Octavio's words rang in her skull and her memories had begun returning. She thought she wanted this, she thought she wanted to know who she was but… She's not sure she wants to know anymore. She'd spent so long forging her identity as Eight that now having the identity of Kiaria clashing with it in her mind was making her head spin.

Eight looked down at her hands and her arms. Old scars she couldn't explain suddenly had stories, every mark in her skin that wasn't from Kamabo suddenly made sense. She vividly remembers when she'd broken free of her hypnotization, the look on Three's face as she cuffed Octavio with the help of Callie and Marie. God she looked so much younger back then, and her face looked so beautiful without the scar. Was she infatuated with her even back then, or is it just her current love for the girl making her think that?

She remembers clearly every step she took as she ran from Octavio's headquarters. She remembers how she met Takeshi and formed the rebellion with him. Everything flooding into her mind all at once, and it was making her head ache. But there was still a burning question in her mind, she had to know, and if she knew the rest of her history now she may as well ask. Her memories from when she was under his control were hazy at best, so any details about that time period would need clarification.

"Before I defected… what was my official rank in your military?" Eight says as she continues to stare at her arms and hands. "A-and… what was my last name?"

Octavio looks up from the ground, he expected her to be looking him in the eyes again but was surprised to see her scanning her own body as though it was a forign object to her. He supposed this should've been expected, he heard how much of her memories she'd lost and even with as much as she clearly can recall now, there's a lot that she is no doubt still missing.

"You were Special Ops unit one, effectively the third in command. It's how you got so many to defect with you." Octavio pauses, once again very interested in the weeds growing from the cracks in the ground. "As for your… last name… I think it's only fair I tell you your full name rather than just that piece, you should know who you are."

Eight stops her gazing at her arms and turns to look him in the eyes, she's curious why he's choosing this course of action, as with the memories she's recovered she already knows her first name. Though she supposes if she had a middle name that she'd want to know what it was.

"Your full name… is Kiaria Yuri _Ida_." Octavio states plainly, making sure to place emphasis on the last name as he does. By this time Octavio more than knows about Marina's defection, and how she's part of a popular duo that took over the news job from the Squid Sisters.

Eight's eyes go wide as her own last name rings in her ears, she can't believe it, though she supposes she should've. There was always a warm familiarity that she felt around Marina that she could never explain. She never understood why she was so quick to open up to her or turn to her for support, but now she does know, she… _she has a sister!_

"M-Marina is my… sister?" Eight looked up into Octavio's eyes, memories from those days were fuzzy at best, the only thing she can firmly remember is a familiar presence that went away roughly the same time her hypnotization was broken. She thought it was just the hypnotization itself, but now she's come to realize… it could be Marina. She doesn't remember seeing Marina much after becoming free, but one memory is trailing its way back to her mind.

"Yes, Marina Ida is your sister. You and her were both top of your classes and excelled in your respective ranks. Your prowess with weapons made you an excellent field soldier, and her prowess with engineering and hacking made her an excellent spy and architect for my army." Octavio says, keeping his attention on Eight as he does. She deserves to hear the truth. "Then, the Inkantation broke my hold on you, and you both went rouge. I don't know what happened between you two but I know Marina went to the surface and you stayed underground to fight me."

Eight doesn't say anything for a moment, she glances between Octavio, the grate which Three had gone into however long ago to get food, the ground beneath her shoes, and the birds flying in the sky. Her mind was racing, grabbing pieces and putting them together like a puzzle that's stored on a spinning platter.

"She… wanted me to leave with her. She told me her and I could forge a new life on the surface. But I refused, I said I had to fight for what was right." Eight states plainly, her words sounding like she's reading from a book rather than recalling a memory. "She didn't want to leave me behind but the thought of getting captured or killed terrified her. She was never a fighter so I didn't blame her. I hoped she'd be safe on the surface and that her and I would one day see each other again… I… I guess in a way I got my wish."

Octavio glances at the grate himself, Three's been gone a while and will no doubt be back soon, he needs to finish this conversation quickly before he gets himself thrown off the edge with no respawn pad synced to him.

"Look, Kiaria, Eight, whatever you'd prefer me to refer to you as… I know I'm the last person you'd believe this from but, I am sorry for the pain I caused you… especially Kamabo. Kamabo has been stealing my designs and perverting my subjects for decades… I wouldn't wish the fate you faced there on anyone, not now, not back then, not ever… and… I realize now your rebellion was right. I was gripping my people too hard in hopes of holding on, but I was wrong to think I could win that way. You were right." Octavio bows his head, he hated everything about Kamabo, even when he was fighting to keep control of his subjects he'd never willingly send them to Kamabo. Hell, he wouldn't have even sent Agent 3 there and that would've arguably solved a lot of his problems at the time.

Before either of them could say another word, a familiar squid pops out of the grate, holding a single Galactic Schwaffle in her hand, with two forks sticking into it, as she also holds a very large drink cup in her other hand, with two bendy straws sticking out the top of the lid.

"So there was a massive rush and he ran out of like everything small, so I figured I'd just get a big serving we could share." Three says as she walks over to the bench she was sitting on with Eight before, only once she's there does she realize that her girlfriend is currently not sitting there. She sets the food and drink down on the bench and looks around and then she spots her… far too close to Octavio.

Eight looks over to Three, her hearts flutter and she smiles as she sees the little blush on her face as she suggests the sharing of food. Three was adorable to Eight, and she's glad having most of her memories back hasn't changed that. However, when Three spots where Eight is standing, she sees something she didn't expect, and yet it comes straight from her memories. The only piece of her memories from when she was hypnotized that is clear as day. She sees the soft, gentle expression on Three's face quickly be replaced with what can only be described as determination and rage. That was the face Three always had when she was making her way through the domes, the face as she fended off the waves of Octolings and Octarians that Octavio sent after her. The face of a soldier ready for war.

"What did you say to her?" Three growls, now suddenly standing between Eight and Octavio with her Hero Shot equipped and a special canister in her free hand. Eight instincually backed away, she figured Three wouldn't hurt her but if she went off on Octavio there was a chance for collateral damage.

"I said nothing but the truth to her, she wanted to know some of her history so I told her what I knew!" Octavio holds his tentacles up beside his head in surrender, this is exactly the kind of situation he had hoped to avoid.

Three's brow furrows and her thumb slips under the lever of the special canister, ready to break the seal as she growls. Three's finger has moved from the side of the weapon to over the trigger, now ready to fire with an audible but quiet click of the safety being switched off. Eight realizes that Three will never believe him and that she's going to have to tell her he's not lying.

"Three, wait!" Eight calls, her voice causing Three to relax somewhat. Three turns to look at the Octoling, a confused expression on her face as she does. "He's telling the truth, I swear!"

Three glances between her girlfriend and Octavio, she sees the worried expression on Eight's face and the nervous one on Octavio's. While she still doesn't trust him in the slightest, she'd rather not cause Eight any undue stress. Hell that's why she'd had this reaction in the first place. Reluctantly, Three stashes the special canister back on her belt and clips her Hero Shot to her belt as well, making sure to flip the safety back on first. She flashes Eight an apologetic smile before using her head to gesture to where they were sitting before, the place where their dinner was waiting for them. Eight simply nods and the pair walk over to the cabin and sit on the bench outside of it.

The pair sit in awkward silence for a moment, Three feeling a pang of shame for reacting so harshly. But she knew how much trouble Octavio could cause and she reacted in kind. Her biggest fear was him somehow getting those shades on Eight. Three knew that if Eight was taken that way, she'd be done. She could never bring herself to harm Eight, so if Octavio had control of Eight's mind, Three wouldn't be able to fight back. She supposes Marie might be able to knock the shades off of Eight with a well placed charger shot, which apparently she'd done to rescue Callie from Octavio, but Marie was busy and she doubts she'd be able to get here in time to do anything. Three shakes her head and clears her mind from these thoughts and instead attempts to break the deafening silence that has built between her and Eight.

"So… what did he have to say?" Three picks up the Schwaffle and grabs one of the forks, taking a quick bite as she does, her stomach is still rather empty as she hasn't eaten since the morning.

"Mainly how I wound up fighting you that first time, and…" Eight pauses, the next words caught on her lips, she didn't think it would be as big of a deal to her as it was, but then she hadn't expected for it to somehow change everything. "My real name."

Three pauses, plastic fork still sticking out of her mouth as she turns to look her in the eyes. She takes the fork out of her mouth and sticks it back into the Schwaffle, setting it aside so she can give Eight her full attention. She would be lying if she said she hadn't wondered what the Octolings name had been before her memories stepped out to get cigarettes, but it had never been that big of a deal. But right now, it mattered to Eight, and that's what mattered to Three.

"Oh? Uh, are you… comfortable sharing it?" Three asks, a small smile creeping across her face as she does. She had come to know everything there was to know about the Eight who went through Kamabo and came to the surface, but she was curious about the girl that became the girl she fell for.

"Well, my first name is Kiaria…" She pauses as the words escape her lips, like speaking a distant memory you didn't know you had. But Eight notices how Three seems to blush harder upon hearing it spoken.

"K-Kiaria? Wow that's uh… absolutely beautiful…" Three blurts out through her blush causing Eight to blush and giggle in return. Three smiles awkwardly and blushes harder. She needs to stop being gay for 0.2 seconds so her girlfriend can finish telling her _what her name is._ "But uh… what about your last name?"

"Oh, right." Eight pauses, the blush fading from her face as her mind resets. "My last name… is _Ida_."

Three's mouth hangs open for a moment in response to this information. Her brain had lapsed for a moment and she didn't recognize the last name at first, and then it all clicked at once sending her eyes wide.

"Wait… so you and Marina…" Three begins, but her befuddlement is too great for her to finish asking her question. Fortunately Eight knows what she's going to ask and is able to answer the question anyways. "No way…"

"Yes. Marina and I are sisters." Eight smiles, almost bouncing slightly as she speaks the words. "I-I'm so excited to tell her!"

Three shakes off her confusion and returns to a state of congratulations, smiling widely.

"That's great! I'm so happy for you!" Three beams, excited that her girlfriend has found something to be excited about.

Eight nods, but before she can speak any other words, her stomach makes an audible growling noise and she realizes she's spent so much time being excited about having a sister that she forgot about consuming food.

"Oops, I guess I got a little too excited." Eight blushes and smiles, causing Three to giggle. "How about, now that my _tragic backstory_ has been revealed, we go back to that Schwaffle you were going to share with me."

Three bites her lip and smirks, picking up the Schwaffle and snagging a portion of it onto a fork. She winks at Eight and then holds the fork up to Eight's mouth causing the octoling to roll her eyes but smile and open her mouth as Three gently slides the fork past her lips before they close down and she consumed the morsel of food provided.

"Mmm, tastes so much better when you feed it to me." Eight smirks back and giggles causing Three to blush and giggle in return. Three insists on feeding Eight as many bites as she wants and Eight absolutely loves the attention and pampering. Before long the Schwaffle is consumed and the pair just sit on the bench holding hands as the sun begins to dip over the horizon.

"You know, all things considered, I'd say today went well." Three states as she once again finds herself at sunset with a beautiful octoling holding her hand.

"I agree, today was good." Eight nods as she squeezes Three's hand, smiling as the world turns orange around them.

Eight shuffles closer and once again rests her head on Three's shoulder. She knew she'd have to tell Marina the news, and that she'd be excited about it, but right now, in this moment, she was enjoying a tender evening with Three. She lets out a small happy sigh prompting Three to giggle and kiss her head. Cap'n would likely be back soon to relieve them of their guard duty, but Eight was content to sit with Three as the sun dips over the horizon until he did.


	16. 3-5 Moving forward

Eight woke up to the light of the sun shining on her face. She squints and pulls the blanket over her to block it out, but it proves pointless as her alarm starts blaring shortly after. She groans loudly and rolls over, slamming her palm firmly against the top of it to silence it. She sighs and pulls the covers off of herself, sitting up and stretching her arms as she lets out a quiet yawn. She looks at her clock and sees what time it is, 7:14am. Why had she set her alarm so early? Usually she's not up until much closer to 10… and then the memories from the previous day came back to her.

"Oh right… that's why it's so early." Eight stands and slides her feet into her slippers so the cold floor doesn't attack her. Pearl had insisted on purchasing her these expensive silk pajamas which… okay Eight conceded, she loved these things. They were so comfortable it felt like she was being hugged by a cloud.

Eight shook her head to focus her mind, she had to talk to Marina today. There were three possible reasons why she hadn't mentioned the fact that they were _SISTERS_, and really, only one of them concerned her. But she highly doubted the one she was concerned about was the case, after all, she's been so caring and welcoming since Kamabo.

Eight steps into her bathroom, flicking on the light and looking herself over in the mirror. She feels kinda cute with her tentacles down, it makes them longer in the back than the front. She examines her face for any thing like dried drool which she is relieved to see none of. She then snags her toothbrush and makes quick work of cleaning her mouth. She doesn't want to have bad breath for this very important conversation she's going to have with Marina. Once her mouth is rinsed out she grabs a hair tie off the counter and pushes her tentacles up, wrapping the tie around it to re-form the ponytail out the back of her head.

Proud of her handiwork she smiles at herself in the mirror before turning to exit the bathroom, switching the light off behind her. She walks back over to her bed, snags her phone off of its charger, and slides it into the pocket of her pajama pants. She then takes a moment to straighten her sheets and blanket so they're tidy. Finally, once her morning routine is done, she turns to leave her room. She knew Marina was going to be one of two places, either the studio or the kitchen. She figures she'll check both since the kitchen is on the way to the studio.

She made her way down the stairs and as she passed by the kitchen she heard the sound of someone walking around and opening cupboards. She makes her way through the gap in the wall that leads from the hallway to the kitchen and sees Marina, she seems to be in the midst of throwing together a selection of foods, likely preparing meals for the next few days so she doesn't have to be in the kitchen every day. She has her headphones on and is idly dancing to the beat as she mixes ingredients together.

Eight enters and gives Marina a smile and a wave, prompting her to do the same in return. Eight motions for Marina to take her headphones off to which she nods and obliges.

"What's going on Eight? You look a little distressed." Marina comments, setting her headphones on the counter.

"Yeah… c-can we talk talk? Like sit down and have a one on one thing?" Eight gestures towards the kitchen table, signifying to Marina that there was something serious going on in EIght's mind.

"Of course we can. Go sit, I'll be there in a moment." Marina smiles and takes her apron off, setting it by the sink as Eight goes to the table and takes her seat. Marina washes off her hands and dries them on a nearby towel before finally making her way over to the table and taking her seat near where Eight is situated. "What's on your mind Eight?"

Eight pauses, she thought she was ready for this. She was sure she was ready for this. She wasn't ready for this in the slightest. She hadn't even thought of what she was going to say or how she was going to say it. She just wanted to know something simple but she didn't know how to ask it without making things weird. Oh no her mouth is opening she's gonna speak as the words form in her brain.

"D-Did you know who I was when I was in Kamabo?" She blurts out, her hearts beating far too fast and she swallows loudly after realizing how blunt her question is.

Marina's smile falters, she suddenly looks incredibly worried. But then she starts studying Eight's face much closer than she ever had, and little things started falling into place, things she thought were just coincidence now all coming together, too many to be coincidence. The way Eight's nose comes to a soft rounded point, her eyes so brilliantly purple, and the short tentacles flanking her face all coming together in Marina's mind. Marina's cup slips from her hands and smashes against the floor, she can feel tears pricking the edges of her eyes as she leans towards Eight.

"K-Kiaria? I-I thought I was s-seeing things…" Marina leans in and grabs Eight, pulling her into a tight hug, which Eight returns quickly.

"Yes, it's me… Why didn't you recognize me sooner?" Eight squeezes the hug tighter, hiding her face in Marina's shoulder as she feels the tears welling in her own eyes. Her memories slowly making her realize just how close she and Marina had been.

"I- It had been… so many years since I saw you… I thought it was just wishful thinking every time I saw my sister in your face, and with your memories gone I-" Marina chokes back a sob, she has so many emotions right now and the biggest is happiness to have her sister back, followed by regret for not realizing the truth sooner.

Eight simply holds Marina as Marina does the same for Eight, the two finally able to show that they're there for each other, just like they had been in the domes. Just like they had been right up until Marina left to be free while Kiaria stayed behind to fight a rebellion.

"I… I should've never left you alone… I should've stayed and fought by your side like you wanted to… I was just so afraid of losing the freedom I had, so I ran… and you got hurt because of it. I'm sorry Kiaria, I am so, so sorry." Marina grips tightly to Eight, never wanting to let go, never wanting to have to leave her again.

"No, don't you apologize. We both did what we thought was right." Eight sobs gently, her mind finding tiny pieces of her relationship with Marina before the hypnotization broke. "Besides… you still helped me, and look at us now, we're together and alive on the surface!"

Marina chuckles and pulls away from the hug, wiping the tears from her eyes as Eight does the same. Happy to finally have the closure she desired after finding the truth about her past. Marina smiles, wiping her face again to free it of any tears that she may have missed earlier.

Eight smiles back and does the same, happy to have so many people in her life she can turn to when she needs, and finally understanding the warm familiarity Marina and her seemed to always have since they met just after she escaped the Metro.

"That was always your dream wasn't it? You stayed and fought because you wanted us to be safe, you couldn't just leave for fear he'd come back and try and take us back." Marina says, grabbing a broom to clean up the mess she made with her shattered cup moments ago.

"Yeah… I mean he never came after you at least, so I feel like staying did something, even if it did end up with me being in the Metro." Eight laughs, then the laughter quickly stops and she stares into the distance.

"Eig- I mean… Kiaria? Are you alright?" Marina turns to look at her, seeing her staring into the distance and becoming lost in thought making her worry.

Eight began to shake, tears welled in her eyes, and she suddenly fell to her knees. She placed her hand over her mouth and she quickly finds herself trembling. Her memories would come in flashes and this was one of the most intense flashes she'd had since she had her talk with Octavio.

Images flashed in her mind, friends she'd made and watched explode into ink with no respawn pad to speak of. The number of times she herself was kept from battle just so a wound could be tended to, only to find more of her comrades had perished. So many faces she sees in her mind and knowing that likely none of them she'll ever see again.

"Kia?!" Marina rushes over and quickly pulls Eight into a hug, holding her close and stroking her head. "What's wrong? Speak to me."

"S-So many… gone… how many more were lost because I wasn't there?" Tears begin rolling down Eights cheeks, so many memories she now wishes she didn't have now flooding her mind.

"Hey, listen to me, it isn't your fault okay? Stop blaming yourself, please, you are the most kind and amazing Octoling ever." Marina says as she hugs Eight tighter, again stroking her head to comfort her.

Eight hadn't expected this outcome from talking with Marina. She wasn't sure if it was the result of her memories coming back over time or if talking with Marina had somehow triggered them, but either way, Eight felt like she needed to clear her head, she needed to get out of the house for a while to make sense of what's going on in her mind.

She made sure Marina knew she was heading out but said she didn't know when she'd be back. She figured if she didn't feel right in her head by sundown she could snag a hotel room or even crash with Three if she'd let her. Oh Agent 3, there's a lot of memories regarding the agent that were crashing her mind. She remembers how merciless she seemed back before her hypnotization broke, how she tore through Octo Valley like it was a hobby… but then something else stuck out to her in her mind.

The first time Eight and Three had actually fought, the final stand of the Octoling military before Three would go on to face the Octobot King. Agent 3 was making her usual run through, Octolings were being sent back to their spawn points in such numbers that they were forbidden from returning to the fight lest all the power get used just keeping them alive. Eight remembers hearing the sound of the spawnpoint fizzling out, Agent 3 had just nabbed the Zapfish from the stage meaning that this could very well be it.

Eight had been hurt in the battle but managed to escape to the side before being splatted, but there was a gash on her side that was leaking ink, she'd be fine given enough time but she feared what might happen should Agent 3 spot her, and well, you know what they say about speaking of the devil.

But rather than turn her weapon on the downed Octoling, Agent 3 did something unexpected. After kicking Eight's weapon aside, she knelt down next to her, and tore off a piece of her clothing, wrapping it around the wound and smiling at her.

"You may not understand me, but, no one deserves to die like this, or at all. Regain your strength and maybe we'll see each other again." Three smiles before turning and heading out of the stage, ready to face Octavio.

Eight finds herself thinking more about what happened that lead her to where she is now, more of her memories returning from when she was Hypnotized. Marina and her had worked together designing the route they would corral Agent 3 to following, each OctoWeapon strategically placed to be the last line of defence for each area… and how she'd torn through them like paper.

Eight found herself sitting on a bench in Inkopolis park, watching the world go on around her. There were so many Inklings and Octolings just living their lives now, happiness and joy could be heard as children played in the field nearby. Eight smiled to herself, maybe it had been worth it after all. All these Octolings she could see were happy and safe, they didn't have to worry about Octavio anymore. Eight found herself looking towards the horizon as the sun rises high and reflects off the lake, something about this place made her feel warmth inside of her, though she couldn't quite figure out why.

Eight figures it must be the happiness of those around her, occasionally Octolings would give her a glance and then smile and wave, she was sure some of them looked familiar to her. Maybe they were friends she'd made in the rebellion, maybe they were fellow soldiers in Octavio's army, either way, they were free and on the surface now. Eight sighed and let her body relax, maybe she didn't have to stress so much any more? Maybe she could stop looking to the past, and instead focus on the future. The future she'd get to spend with those around her that she cares about, and that care about her. Eight smiles and thinks, maybe things will start looking up from here on out.


	17. 4-1 A concerning message

Eight awoke to the gentle light of the sun brightening the room, and the gentle rise and fall of Three's chest as her head lays upon it. Eight smiles and snuggles closer to Three, it had been an interesting year to say the least. Her memories were all but completely back, she'd come to terms with most of them by now, and it seemed like things were settling down. She still had various concerns, and her recollection of the events that took place while she was under Octavio's control were still at least a little bit hazy, but she found she was much happier focusing on where she is now, and the happiness she's been able to achieve.

About three months ago, Eight had finally mustered up the courage to ask Three if she wanted her to move in with her. Three was, unsurprisingly, very on board with this idea. Though Three was a little flustered when Eight proposed the idea initially. Moving in with Three wasn't nearly as stressful of a transition as she had expected, she thought for sure that she would miss things like the size of Pearl and Marina's house, but she found that she actually preferred the small comfortable apartment that she now shared with her girlfriend. Marina was a little sad to see her go, they are sisters after all, but she knew Eight had to live her life and trying to keep her would've only caused the two to drift apart. Marina and Pearl found themselves in Three's apartment far more often than they had expected to be during this process, as they kept finding things that Three didn't have that they'd need. Like for example, a mop.

Eight had also started getting into music, or rather, get back into it. She had written and sung a handful of tracks during her time as an Octoling Rebel, with the help of her second in command, who provided assistance with lyrics as well as performing the guitar tracks while Eight did the singing. She started by re-singing her old rebel songs, with Marina's help re-creating the backtrack. Eventually however she did start trying new songs, and even found herself writing more. She'd always had a fondness for poetry, and really enjoyed how well poems seemed to translate to musical lyrics. Marina had gifted her a new laptop when she moved out so that she could both keep in touch and work on her music more freely.

Finally, as the sun brightened the room even more, Three slowly began to wake from her sleep as well, rubbing her eyes and looking down at the Octoling currently cuddled into her. Three had gotten quite used to Eight cuddling her like this, but it still made her a little flushed every time she woke up like this. Three wasn't going to complain however, as she did greatly enjoy the contact and the warmth. Three smiled and rubbed Eight's head gently, prompting a gentle purr from Eight, causing Three to smile wider and blush lightly. She leans down and kisses Eight's head, seemingly very satisfied with the position the two of them awoke in.

"Good morning sleepy head" Eight purrs, not wanting to move from her spot, nestled comfortably against Three for warmth. She nuzzles her head against Three's chest, her arms wrapping tighter around Three's body to hold her closer as she lets out a light coo.

"Good morning love." Three replies, gently rubbing Eight's ear prompting another purr from the girl. Three giggles and presses another kiss to Eight's head, both of them now purring happily. Three continues gently rubbing Eight's ear and enjoying the little coos and purrs that she makes in response to it, really, Three just enjoys being so close to Eight and sharing their warmth like this.

The two remain laid down, cuddled into one another, today was supposed to be a day off for the both of them, to take some time to relax. No agent work, no turf wars, no battles of any kind, just a simple lazy day for the two of them, and they couldn't have been more excited. They were starting right now with their refusal to get out of bed until one of them became hungry enough that hunger outshined comfort. This was their plan at least, until Three's phone began ringing. Normally, Three would ignore her phone in situations like this, but it was Callie's ringtone, meaning something was definitely up.

"Ugh… I'll see what's going on." Three grumbles as she reluctantly rolls away from Eight, snagging her phone and answering it. Her tone indicates that she's annoyed but she refrains from directly complaining outright, as she doesn't yet know why Callie is calling. "What is it Cals? I thought Eight and I had today off."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry… but we need you to come in, both of you… we're picking up a signal and it's making everyone nervous, even Octavio is uncomfortable." Callie replies, her voice sounds shaken like whatever it was caused her great fear. Three sighs, clearly disappointed at the loss of her lazy day, but she nods to herself as she understands the reasoning. The tone in Callie's voice is enough to tell Three that their plans, or rather lack thereof, need to be put on hold.

"Alright… just give us a bit to get ready, we'll be there." Three says into her phone, ending the call and turning to Eight with a sigh, an apologetic look on her face as she explains to her lover the situation. Granted she doesn't have very many details herself, but she does know that Eight will understand, or at least she hopes she will. "Something's come up, they need us to come in."

Eight sighs and lays back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Somehow she knew something like this would happen, she could smell it in the air. Three had already gotten out of bed and was setting out her agent gear. She was probably going to shower soon too which meant Eight would have a little bit of time to get her things situated before it was her turn to clean herself. Eight mentally recalls where her agent outfit is so she can set it out once she's out of bed. She'd offer to join Three in the shower but they didn't have that kind of time. She'd have to save that for later.

"I'm sorry about this… I was really looking forward to having an "us" day." Three sighs as she tosses aside the tank top she'd been wearing as she heads for the bathroom. Eight can't help but stare a little at the older agent, her muscles defined yet not overpowering, the various scars that lined her body also gave character to the otherwise plain skin of her body. Three knew Eight was looking and frankly she welcomed it, she liked how Eight seemed to enjoy her scars, it made her feel more confident in herself. Eight actually quite liked the look of Three's bare back, just something about the way her body looked from that angle made her flushed every time she saw it.

"Don't worry too much about it love, these things happen." Eight smiles, blushing lightly from the sight in front of her, she's got no shame in eyeing up her lover and Three seems to have no shame showing herself off to her. "I'm sure we'll get another chance soon."

Three smiled and nodded before finally entering the bathroom and closing the door. Eight sat up and stretched her arms, letting out a soft yawn as she does. She tosses aside the covers and sets her feet on the ground, pushing herself up and making her way over to the closet to get out her own agent uniform. She pulls it off the hanger and brushes it off, making sure there's no dust or other debris on it. She smiles softly as she looks over it, remembering how she had sworn Marie to secrecy when she had asked for it to be made so she could surprise Three with it. She sets it on a nearby chair, along with her shorts and her headset. She discards her own sleep clothes to the hamper so they can be washed as she waits for her turn to use the bathroom.

After a few short minutes, Three finishes in the bathroom and Eight has her turn. As Three walks out and Eight walks in, she takes a moment to give Three a quick peck on the lips, causing the both of them to smile and blush. Eight could tell Three was checking her out as she walked past her into the bathroom, and Eight loved how clear the blush on Three's face is. Eight then quickly enters the bathroom and shuts the door behind her. She quickly cleans herself in the shower, wishing she could spend more time relaxing under the gentle rain of hot water. She finishes her preparations and heads into the bedroom, drying herself off and putting on her hero suit. Once she's got everything situated she goes to put her tentacles back in their ponytail but… where's her tie?

"Looking for this?" Three smirks, holding Eight's hair tie and waving it around slightly, a gentle blush across her face. She gestures for Eight to sit in front of her. "Let me do it for you."

Eight blushes but nods, Three gently but quickly pulls up Eight's tentacles, wrapping the tie around them to keep them in place. Once they're situated properly Eight turns around and gives Three a quick peck on the lips.

"Thanks love, now let's go see what's so important that we had to get out of bed before noon today." Eight snickers and heads for the door, with Three following close behind.

* * *

They arrive in Octo Canyon and find that _everyone_ is there. Even Pearl and Marina. Eight and Three are confused when they arrive but sensing their befuddlement, Marie quickly greets them and briefs them on the situation.

"Hi, thanks for coming in… I'm really sorry about taking your day off from you, but this is important." Marie says, worry plastered across her expression. She looks almost like she didn't sleep, and given how early it is, there's a good chance that she didn't.

"What's going on Marie? We know you wouldn't call us in unless it was big, so what's going down?" Three asks, smiling to Marie to reassure her as best she can, but Three herself is already feeling the effects of the signal and feels her confidence wavering.

"We've received a transmission of some kind… we can't identify where it came from or who might've sent it, we had to call Marina in to hopefully decipher it since she had the technical know-how to get a job like that done. But, the signal just makes us all uneasy." Marie states, she's holding her arms crossed and her eyes are painted with worry. They can feel the tension in the air as well, and the signal feels like the source, almost like it's causing their minds to exude worry.

Three and Eight nod as they make their way over to the rest of the group with Marie following close behind. Three spots Jay and gives her a quick smile and wave, which Jay quickly returns. Eight and Three then take their seats just as Marina seems to finish decoding the message, as she has a satisfied look on her face.

"Okay I think I've got it!" Marina smiles and hooks her laptop into the speakers that were set up. She tacks a few commands into her laptop before setting it to play the decoded message, which only serves to make everyone even more uneasy. The message comes through, it's fuzzy like an old phonograph, but the words it speaks are clear if a bit robotic.

"**We… Return… I… Live… No… Escape… Our… Destiny… To… Destroy…**"

Everyone's hearts sink, what could that possibly mean? Even Octavio seems increasingly uneasy about the contents of the message. Despite now having translated the message, it still felt like they were missing something, like there was something staring them in the face that they weren't seeing. Marie is tapping her thumb against her chin, she's pondering everything that they know and glancing between everyone present.

"I think… we're not getting the full picture here." Marie breaks the deafening silence, walking to a space where everyone can turn to see her easily. "There's still a lot of noise, you can all hear it. Either there's another signal buried in the one Marina translated, or somehow she wasn't able to decode the whole thing."

"Marie, you aren't suggesting what I think you're suggesting are you?" Callie asks, clearly uneasy about what Marie seems to be implying. Marie shamefully looks back to her and simply shakes her head.

"We have no choice Cals, we need him." Marie answers, looking none too happy about the decision either. She crosses her arms tighter and sighs, she'd hoped that with Marina here they wouldn't need his help anymore.

"Wait, Marie, what are you talking about?" Jay interjects, glancing between Callie and Marie, about as lost as everyone who isn't the two of them.

Callie and Marie exchange a glance, sharing a silent but quick conversation. Callie finally nods and Marie goes on to explain.

"Okay so here's the long and the short of it. We need to know why there's still so much noise in the message despite Marina's best efforts to translate it, and there's only one cephalopod I know who's better than Marina at things like this. His name is Zod. He owns the End of Line club which is hosting an event in… just over a week." Marie explains, once again tapping her thumb against her chin. "Callie and I can't go, we'd be recognized too easily and we'd never get to actually talk to Zod about anything."

"I'll do it." Three stands, being joined quickly by Eight who intertwines her fingers with her own.

"I'll do it too." Eight smiles at Three who blushes lightly.

Marie ponders for a moment, but after considering her options she quickly nods. Jay isn't subtle enough for undercover work, and Pearl and Marina have the same problem that herself and Callie have being popular idols. Three and Eight really are their only option for this mission.

"It's decided then, I'll get you all the information you need for your mission. I'll deliver it to your apartment by the end of the day tomorrow." Marie nods and turns to Marina. "Copy down that message, both the raw data and your translation. It might prove useful."

Marina nods and gets to work copying everything to a thumb drive. Finally with the air no longer thick with worry, everyone seems to calm down at least slightly. They have a plan finally and they're going to enact it. Hopefully from here on out, things start going in their favour.


	18. 4-2 Take my hand

Agent 3 and Agent 8 only had a week to prepare to meet the contact that Marie had spoken of, and so they were going over the important details of the event from the dress code down to how they were going to get by security. Three insisted that Eight find some way to bring a weapon in, but Eight said she couldn't figure out a feasible way to get any into the venue. They were sat together at the kitchen table in their apartment, plans laid out in front of them, even schematics of the building the event was being held in just in case they needed it. Certain things on the schematics were circled like the elevator shaft and the bar, to be used as points of retreat should things get hairy. But there was one issue that Eight hadn't expected, and it was such a specific detail that she hadn't even considered it until Three brought it up.

"What do you MEAN you don't know how to dance?!" Eight snickered, finding Three's frustration mildly cute. Three had been trying to be more open about her emotions but she was still somewhat stoic more often than she should be, so for her to have a moment of pure emotion like this was something Eight had to take advantage of. She was careful not to take her teasing too far however, she knew that Three did still have some self confidence issues, even if she claims she doesn't.

"I never had to before! I usually just nodded my head to the music and everyone around me was happy!" Three grumbled, crossing her arms and pouting, turning away from Eight slightly, she's not mad but she is at least slightly upset. She's also trying to play it off that the fact she doesn't know how to dance isn't something that bothers her when in reality she's always wanted to learn, she just never found the time before.

Eight calmed her laughing and grabbed Three's hand, she found the whole predicament rather funny but she still didn't want to actually upset her partner. She rubbed Three's hand with her thumb and smiled at her, still stifling some giggles, but she does her best to reassure her. Eight smiles the warm familiar smile she has that always seems to help Three calm down somewhat, and slowly Three does relax. Finally after a few moments of calming her mind, she's facing Eight properly once again.

"Well, Marina insisted on teaching me how… rather thoroughly actually… I-I could teach you!" Eight's giggles are replaced by excitement, she really wants to give something to Three to thank her for everything that she's done for her, and teaching her how to dance sounds perfect. Eight is blushing slightly and squeezes Three's hand to hopefully get her to agree to the idea, she desperately wants to do something like this for Three and she sincerely hopes Three will let her.

Three blushes visibly at the prospect, squeezing Eight's hand lightly as she weighs the options in her mind. They need to go on this mission and they need to make sure their cover isn't blown, and she can see no alternative to the proposal Eight has given. At the very least, it does mean she and Eight will get to spend some time doing things together, they could even pretend it's a date or something instead of being agent work. Three really hopes that Eight isn't too hard on her if she struggles though, she doesn't want to make a fool of herself after all. Finally, after a few moments of pondering, Three looks Eight in the eyes and nods.

"Okay, let's do it." Three smiles through her blush, a little worried that her body won't want to move the way it's supposed to or that she'll step on Eight's feet over and over again, but she's also excited to have something to do with her partner. She pushes aside her worries for the moment and decides to focus solely on Eight, and how excited the Octoling seems to be at the prospect of teaching her how to dance.

Eight smiles wide and bounces lightly, she's clearly very excited and is very unable to hide it. She grabs Three's wrists and quickly leads her into the living room. Three blushes harder as Eight leads her, she hadn't expected Eight to want to get started so suddenly, but she supposes that given the tight time constraints, it's a reasonable course of action. That, and the fact that Eight looks like she's about to explode from excitement, allows Three to calm her racing thoughts and simply smile as Eight starts examining the space in the living room.

"Okay, first thing's first, we need space so lets move the couch and coffee table out of the way." Eight pecks Three on the cheek and then goes and moves the coffee table to the other side of the room as Three pushes the couch back as well, giving them plenty of space to work. The couch now sits slightly into the kitchen but at least it's out of the way, which means they'll have plenty of space to work on teaching Three how dancing works. Eight was still impressed by Three's strength, she'd moved the couch like she was just pushing a small chair out of the way.

Once they have enough room, Eight slyly grabs Three's hips and quickly pulls her into a kiss. Eight wants to set a gentle mood for helping her girlfriend learn how to dance properly, or at the very least, well enough that she won't look out of place on their upcoming undercover mission. But Eight doesn't want to focus on the upcoming mission, rather she wants to savor this moment where she and her lover can spend time in each other's arms. Finally she breaks the kiss and smiles, the two of them blushing hard. Eight leans in and pecks Three on the nose causing them to both giggle. Eight takes a half step back, keeping her arms around Three, and begins the instructional process.

"Alright, we'll go over some basic steps first, and then once we have that down we'll add some music and see how well you can keep with the timing of the music alright?" Eight asks, still holding Three's hips and smiling. Eight knows exactly the type of dance she's going to teach Three and she can't wait to get started.

"Alright that sounds good to me." Three replies, happy to do whatever Eight needs her to do. Then Three has a quick thought that makes her blush hard, but she manages to push the blush back slightly when she voices this thought to Eight. "Since you're teaching me… and you seem to have taken charge already… I think maybe you should lead."

Eight giggles and nods, keeping one of her hands on Three's hip and using her other to guide one of Three's hands to her shoulder, their now free hands interlocking with each other. Eight slowly shows Three the steps she needs to take for a basic waltz. Three clearly struggles at first, getting frustrated as her feet won't move the way they're supposed to, but gradually, over time, she does start to get the hang of it. Eight reassuring Three that she's learning and that she's improving does help keep Three from giving up, and even helped to keep her more focused on the fact that she's catching on quickly, rather than focusing on the missteps. Three actually manages to start enjoying herself somewhat, even though she's still slightly frustrated with herself for not having at least looked up a video tutorial about how to dance ever in the past.

Three gets the hang of the dance rather quickly once she finally figures out how to step properly in time with Eight, and soon she's giggling and smiling as her and Eight dance in rhythm with each other. Eight smiles and squeezes Three's hand as they dance. Eight is very proud of Three for both how well she's doing, and for the fact that she's managed to not lose her motivation. Three's doing an astounding job. Eight realizes that Three is now probably ready for something a little more advanced than just the basic "stepping in time" and Eight smirks as the idea crosses her mind.

"Okay, I think you've got the basics, now comes the fun part, I'm going to try twirling you." Eight says as she looks into Three's eyes. Three looks nervous but Eight takes her hand off of Three's hip and strokes her face gently to reassure her. "You'll do fine, just let your body follow as I spin your arm, and you should naturally do the twirl."

Three nervously nods and Eight puts her hand back on Three's hip, gently leading her to the same dance moves as before, and looking to her eye's and giving her a questioning look to ask if she's ready for the twirl. Three again gives a nervous nod. Gently Eight guides Three into the twirl, and unlike with the waltz itself, Three seems to nail it instantly.

"You did it! I'm so proud of you!" Eight beams, excited about how quickly Three is catching on. She can't help herself and she pulls Three closer placing a quick kiss to her lips. The two smile at each other, Three giggles and blushes, proud of herself for how much she's progressed, and grateful to Eight for being so patient and teaching her so well, especially when she'd get frustrated and need to be reassured. She gently nuzzles into Eight and presses a kiss to her neck.

"Thank you so much Eight, I never could've learned this without you." Three smiles warmly, enjoying how much time she's gotten to spend just being intimate and close with her girlfriend despite how this is all technically still agent work. She pushes that thought to the back of her mind however, she wants to remember this as just a moment of her and Eight being together, a moment that maybe she'll recall if and when there comes a time when one of them presents a ring to the other. But for right now, Three just focuses on how happy she is in this moment.

"You're welcome Three. Now, there's one more thing, we need to do it to music. Did you perhaps have any ideas what song our first proper dance together should be to?" Eight asks, pressing a quick kiss to Three's cheek. She smiles reassuringly, as if to say that no matter what song Three chooses, Eight will be happy to dance to. Eight doesn't know what song she would personally choose for this moment, so having Three decide is both useful, and adorable.

Three blushes and ponders for a moment, her mind running through every song she's heard and trying to find the one that has the correct tone and beat for the type of dance that Eight has instructed her on. Then her eyes light up as a song comes right to her mind. It's a song that has a lot of meaning to her personally, and she really hopes Eight finds a connection with it too after they share this dance.

"How about… Maritime Memory?" Three asks through a blush, she'd been secretly hoping to dance with Eight to this song for ages, she just never found the time to take dance lessons to be able to, but the opportunity has now just fallen on her lap and she has to take it. She had considered trying to hold off on using the song until the night of the mission, but there was still an off chance they wouldn't even get to or have to dance on the mission. Three had to seize this opportunity now.

"Maritime Memory, sounds perfect, just like you." Eight winks before going to Three's TV and hooking her phone into it and starting the song. She set up a brief buffer so they'd have a few moments before the actual song itself started to get going, allowing them to get back into their dance position. "You ready?"

Three nods and takes position as the song fades in, following Eight's lead as they step in time to the beat of the music as it fills the apartment. Three's nervousness quickly fades as she finds herself naturally following along, the beat of the music allowing her to keep her steps in time with relative ease. Eight throws some curveballs at her by twirling her occasionally, however Three seems to have no issues returning to following the beat properly every time. Finally as the song nears its conclusion, Eight does something she _didn't_ prepare Three for, as the final notes of the song play, Eight sweeps Three's legs out from under her, catching her and gently dipping her. Three panicked slightly but once she realized what Eight was doing she simply blushed.

"Hey there cutie" Eight smirks and then presses a kiss to Three's lips before helping her stand, keeping their lips pressed together the whole time. Finally once they've been standing for a few moments their lips gently separate as they both look at each other with love in their eyes and a blush on their faces. One of Eight's arms was around Three's neck, the other around her waist, and her nose was just inches away from Three's own as the two look deep into the other's eyes.

"Wow, that was… incredible." Three says, still processing everything that just happened, and possibly wanting to have more of it in the near future as well. Her heart was racing and her face was bright orange.

"I have to agree, you learned so quickly I had to do something to catch you off guard." Eight giggles, pressing another quick peck to Three's lips. Her own blush painted plainly across her face as well.

"You succeeded, but I think I liked it anyways." Three giggles, returning the gesture quickly. Eight had been building her confidence and Three was showing her that it was paying off, Three was more than happy to show Eight just how much the girl meant to her.

"So what now my dear?" Eight asks, still holding Three's hips and standing close. Eight didn't want to let go but she also wanted to perhaps… move somewhere more comfortable for the two of them than standing in the middle of their living room.

"Well, I think we're adequately prepared for the undercover part of the mission now since I now know how to dance properly… and we've got a few more days to go over the rest of the mission's details… why don't we call it a night early?" Three blushes and pecks Eight on the cheek. She smiles and bites her lip, hoping that Eight will accept the invitation.

Eight smirks and kisses Three on the lips deeply before leaning down and grabbing her legs and her shoulders, carrying her towards the bedroom. Kicking the door closed behind them. She sets Three down on the bed and presses a long, loving kiss to her lips as she climbs on top of her.

"Why don't I give you a reward for being so good while I taught you how to dance." Eight giggles and smirks as she presses another kiss to Three's lips, and the two of them melt into each other.


	19. 4-3 End of line

Eight and Three were putting the finishing touches on their outfits. Three hated that she needed to look so dressed up but she figured getting to see Eight dolled up the same way would make it all worth it. Three was in the bathroom in her bedroom, she's got a bag of makeup next to her that Marie had provided, and Eight had helped her learn how to apply. Three guessed that after this mission she'd likely never need it again, but she also wasn't planning on throwing it away either. Eight was in the half bathroom which connected to the living room, doing the same prep that Three was doing for their mission.

Three, for probably the first time in her entire life, was applying lipstick, it was subtle but it did give her lips a gentle sheen, and darkened the shade a couple degrees. Her entire application of makeup was something she'd never done actually, from the eyelashes to the eyeliner, to the foundation and gentle blush she'd applied. She found it interesting how well her makeup even covered up her scar. If you looked closely you could still see the imperfections in the skin that resulted from the santization sludge burning against her face, but at a glance you'd never notice.

Finally once she was satisfied with how she looked, she turned away from her bathroom mirror and grabbed her belt off the towel rack where she'd left it when she started getting ready, cinching it tight around her waist. Once it was secure she pushed her way out of the bathroom that was inside her bedroom, and then into the living room from her bedroom, now just waiting for Eight to finish getting ready as well.

Three's look was now complete. Her tentacles were pulled back to the back of her head in a pseudo ponytail, though a little bit of them were still present at the front of her head as a result of where they grow from. Her face was gently painted with makeup, just enough that she wouldn't look out of place on the mission, but still lightly enough that she still looked like herself. Her body was adorned in a beautiful black dress which had only one shoulder strap, the other side leaving her shoulder completely exposed. The dress was interrupted at her waist by the belt she had just put on, it was similarly black and made of a similar material so it blended well, but it had a gold plated clasp that added a touch of metallic colour to the overall look. Finally the rest of her dress fell to just after her knees. Her feet were adorned in glossy black flats with no socks to complete the look.

Eight stepped out of the bathroom connected solely to the living room shortly after, a similar application of makeup on her face, however her outfit was dramatically different. Eight opted for a fitted suit rather than a dress, the jacket, pants, and tie all a brilliant purple that seemed to match her iris colour. Her dress shirt was a simple white but its simplicity complimented the brilliant purple of the rest of her outfit wonderfully. Her lips were matched to the same colour as it as well, showing a bit more adventurous nature than Three. However since Three has never worn makeup before, she's still being quite adventurous, at least by her own standards.

Three looked at Eight and blushed hard as she saw her, she looked absolutely stunning. Her outfit complimented her figure perfectly. It didn't hug every curve but it wasn't meant to, rather it fit so that just enough of her body shape was shown despite no actual skin being visible. Three was absolutely enamored by her beauty and her blush and staring were proof of this. Eight notices Three staring and giggles.

"I take it you like my outfit?" Eight teases, blowing Three a kiss and blushing lightly, enjoying the attention her girlfriend is giving her despite how important the coming mission is. She manages a smile and strikes a pose to show off her outfit to Three even more.

"I don't know how you did it, you somehow became even more beautiful than you already were." Three flirts through her own blush, smiling as her girlfriend rolls her eyes. Three now knew two very important things. One, Eight looks amazing in a suit. Two, if Eight continues to tease and flirt with her like this, she's going to melt.

"You look absolutely gorgeous as always, even if your beautiful face is somewhat covered by that makeup." Eight giggles prompting Three to roll her own eyes. Eight knew Three never wore makeup so she had to poke fun at her for it at least once. Three also appreciated the way in which Eight went about the poking fun, because it helped her feel confident in herself how she liked being, which Eight knew Three secretly cared about a lot.

"You're a butt. Are you ready to go? I… kinda want to get this mission over with, we're still due to have our actual lazy day." Three sheepishly rubs her neck, a little embarrassed to admit that she wants a proper day off but knowing Eight will agree with her. They hadn't had the chance to relax since the message came through so they were both very eager to get this over with so they could get back to being normal cephalopods.

"Yeah let's go, this guy better have the intel we need. That message on its own concerns me… I hope it isn't what I think it is." Eight replies, idly staring at the floor for a moment before shaking her head and offering her arm to her girlfriend. "Shall we go my dear?"

"We shall." Three smiles and takes Eight's arm, not asking what Eight meant because Three frankly didn't want to know. She wanted to know the truth and nothing else, speculation would serve her no benefit, it would simply cause her to worry about potentially the wrong thing.

They head out of Three's apartment and lock the door behind them. Unlike when they would normally go on a date, they weren't heading to the roof to the launchpad. This time they were instead headed to the ground where Marie had arranged a ride for them. Three felt like it was all a bit extravagant and indulgent, but it's what's expected and since they're trying to blend in, it's what they need to do. What Three hadn't expected was just how _nice_ their ride was going to be. Marie had reserved and paid for a stretch limo for them to ride in, and Three was stunned. She expected maybe a luxury sedan with a chauffeur, not, well, this.

"That's a bit overkill isn't it?" Three asks, still holding Eight's arm.

"I'm sure Marie has her reasons for this… but yeah it is a little much." Eight agrees, but neither of them is going to complain. Their chauffeur opens the door for them so they can enter the vehicle. Three scoots in first allowing Eight to follow shortly after.

The ride over is fairly uneventful, save for a few quick pecks shared by the two lovers in the back of the limo. They would properly kiss but they were trying to not smudge their makeup so they settled for small shows of affection. They sat together and held each other's hand as the vehicle pulled up to the location. The movement of their ride stops and within a moment the door is opening and their chauffeur is gesturing for them to get out. Eight steps out first and offers her hand to Three to assist her, which Three graciously accepts. The two head towards the entrance as their chauffeur returns to the driver's seat and drives away. The two approach the door and the greeter spots them, smiling and welcoming them to the venue.

"Welcome to the End of Line club! Can I get your names?" The greeter asks, ready to flip through his book of names to ensure the two are indeed on the list. He does pause when he looks at Eight, like he sees something he recognizes but just can't quite put his finger on. Fortunately for him, Eight quickly pipes up.

"Kiaria Ida and Alex Narakai." Eight says, rolling her tongue around her mouth after, as though their real names felt weird to say, which to be fair, they did. Three was only really called Alex by her cousin Jay, and Eight was so used to being called, well, Eight, that her real name sounded strange to her. It barely even came out of her mouth right, and Three visibly felt a little weird hearing Eight say both of their real names out loud.

"I-Ida?! Oh excuse me for not recognizing you miss, your resemblance to Marina is uncanny now that I've got a proper look. Go on in, you and your date have a wonderful evening!" The greeter pushes a button and the doors open, allowing Eight and Three to enter. They say their thank you's before heading through the doors into the club.

The first thing the two notice when they enter is the atmosphere, there seems to be a lot more focus on an electronic vibe than they were expecting. The floor seems to be made of square panels that give off a gentle white light, with minimal lighting from above. Fortunately their attire was more than appropriate as most people in attendance were in similar outfits to theirs. The second thing they noticed was how high up they were. The elevator ride to the top of the building hadn't felt too long however it seemed like they were fifty storeys into the air. A fall from that height would mean more than a splat, chances are they wouldn't even be able to sync with a spawn pad due to the distance fallen at terminal velocity. Fortunately the venue was enclosed on all sides by what looked like fairly thick glass. They walked onto the floor and strode towards the bar, they took their seats next to each other as the bartender noticed them and finished drying the cup in his hands before setting it down.

"Hello there, what can I get for you?" He asks as he walks over to them, looking between Eight and Three waiting for one of them to reply.

"We'd like to speak with Zod" Eight states, causing the bartender to pause for a moment. The bartender leans against the bar table, moving in closely to the two of them to speak more privately despite the public location.

"What business do you have with him?" He squints suspiciously as he looks at the two of them.

"Just tell him that agents Three and Eight of the Squidbeak Splatoon would like to speak with him, Agent Two sends her regards." Three stares him in the eyes as a realization dawns across his face. He quickly straightens up and tugs his shirt to straighten it as well.

"Right, I will just… go tell him you're here." He turns and leaves the bar, leaving Three and Eight to sit and wait for someone to return.

"So this guy seems to have some connections, but it's good to know we still have at least a little pull because of the Splatoon." Three chuckles, looking over to her partner who seems to have a rather concerned look on her face. "Eight? What is it?"

Eight shakes her head, dismissing the thought that troubled her. She thought she saw a symbol from her past, but it was gone before she could confirm or deny her suspicions. She decides it's best just to let it go.

"Nothing, it's fine. I thought I saw something, but I was probably just seeing things." Eight smiles unconvincingly, she's still on edge. However before Three can get a word in, the bartender is returning to the two of them. He's walking at a brisk pace and has his arms behind him, coming to a stop once he's close enough to them for them to hear him.

"Please come with me, Zod will see you now." The bartender gestures towards another elevator that will no doubt take them to the booth that overlooks the entire club. Exactly the kind of place that the owner of said club would likely reside if he were present.

Three and Eight follow him to the elevator and he uses his key card along with a pin number to activate it, allowing them to enter and ride up. The elevator dings and the doors open, allowing them to enter the room. Across from them is a large desk which sits by the window that overlooks the club, there was a private bar to their left, and a lounge area with a couch and a TV to their right. On the opposite side of the desk to them there was a chair that faced away from them, it looked as though there was a figure occupying it. Without turning around initially, a voice calls out to them from the chair.

"So, the infamous Agent's Three and Eight." The chair turns and a figure is revealed to them as the light shines on his body. He's a hair taller than Three if his height while sitting is any indication, he's wearing a pressed and fitted black suit with white shirt and black tie, the tentacles atop his head are pulled back into a ponytail, much like many male Inklings do, however his eye mask is a closer match to the male _Octolings_ Three and Eight have encountered. "You know, I was expecting agents with your reputation to be a little… _older_."

"So you're Zod… you're shorter than I expected." Three retorts, she's not going to be teased without retaliation. She crosses her arms and gives him a snarky expression which prompts him to simply roll his eyes.

"Charming, just like Marie." Zod stands and walks around his desk, making his way towards them. He has his arms crossed behind his back as he walks towards the pair of Cephalopods in his office.

"Three, we have a job to do, please try not to upset him." Eight puts her hand on Three's arm to calm her, however she is trying to stifle a giggle as Three's retort was genuinely funny.

"So, what brings you to my doorstep, certainly if Marie had wanted a chat she'd have come herself, so it must be something important." Zod crosses his arms and stands in front of them. Their previous assumptions about his height were confirmed, he's barely taller than Three by a small margin.

"We intercepted… a transmission of some kind, but we can't figure out who sent it." Eight pulls a small thumb drive out of her pocket, holding it up for Zod to see. "This contains the raw transmission as well as what Marina was able to translate, Marie said you might be able to discern where the transmission came from."

He snags the drive out of Eight's hand and walks over to his computer, plugging it in and listening to both the raw transmission and the translated one. He taps his thumb against his chin as he ponders the audio his ears have just processed. He types a couple things into the keyboard on his computer and then pops the drive out of it.

"Marina's translation was only partial, there were words missing from it. I was able to get the entire message by instead of filtering out what might be considered noise and isolating it, the message is contained within that." He hands the thumb drive back to Eight who pockets it quickly.

"So then what's the actual message?" Three asks, crossing her arms impatiently.

"We will return, for I still live. There is no escape from our destiny. To the end of time your kind we will destroy." He says plainly, but he doesn't let them ask anything as he continues. "There was also another message buried within it that I don't quite understand… 10,008, vengeance will be served."

Eight and Three take defensive stances, both very unnerved by these words. Zod notices their uneasiness and rolls his eyes gently.

"Ladies, relax. I am prepared to do anything in my power to help you here." He does a grandiose bow which only serves to heighten the tension in the room. He then turns and walks over to the window behind him, and he looks through it almost like he's expecting something. "Now, I've got my computer attempting to identify the source of the signal. No doubt you'll want transport to the location once I've found out where it is, and you may also need forged passports to get you through any checkpoints unquestioned, not an easy task in today's climate…"

He turns and faces them again, smiling widely.

"Ladies, this is going to be quite a ride." He smirks, and the glass ceiling over top of the main club area shatters. Various figures land as the cubes of tempered glass fall around them, and suddenly Three and Eight realize, they've been set up.


	20. 4-4 Fall

Three and Eight instantly recognize the figures that dropped in, sanitized octoling elites. The club occupants scream in terror and quickly run off and clear out, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of the inevitable brawl that is coming. Three pulls a small disc out of her pocket and throws it at the window behind Zod, it latches on and the lights on it quickly create a circle before flashing three times. With a loud POP the pane of glass shatters, Zod stands out of the way and almost gestures for them to run past him as Three and Eight leap through it into action.

"The game has changed, Agents of the Splatoon!" Zod announces from the now shattered window to his office as he laughs maniacally at the chaotic scene before him. He wasn't trying to find the source of the signal at all, he was merely stalling to get them caught in this trap that had been set for them. Whether he orchestrated it himself or only allowed it to be played out didn't matter at this moment, it was time for Three and Eight to act.

Three dodges a swing from an OctoBrush and grabs the Octoling Elite by the strap of their ink tank, quickly elbowing them in the face and sliding the ink tank off of them. She dumps the contents of sanitized ink on the ground and straps the tank to her back, reaching under the skirt of her dress and pulling out a set of dualies that were strapped to her legs. The ink tank quickly begins filling with Orange ink as Three throws down a table to use as cover, ducking behind it quickly.

Eight dodges a barrage of shots from an OctoShot and sweeps the legs out from her assailant, stealing their ink tank and doing the same as Three. Eight grabs the discarded OctoBrush from the Octoling Three defeated and quickly it becomes coated with her ink, which she shifted to orange as to not accidentally harm Three. Eight rolls out of the way of a roller swing and finds herself behind the same table Three knocked over for cover.

"Well, this is certainly more eventful than I expected." Eight says to Three as splashes of sanitized ink impact the table they're ducked behind.

"I told you to bring a weapon!" Three smirks before dodge rolling out from behind the table and taking a few shots before quickly rolling back to cover. "It seems more are coming, we're not going to be able to hold out for too long, and I don't think there's a spawnpoint near enough to sync to."

"We've got this, don't worry." Eight smiles reassuringly, tossing a splat bomb over the table into the group of Sanitized Octolings that are attacking them.

A Sanitized Octoling rounds the table with a roller, ready to strike but their form explodes into ink quickly as Eight slaps them with her brush several times before they can swing down, and their roller clatters against the ground. Eight quickly kicks it aside and looks over at Three who's just dispatched another Octoling, their weapon clattering against the ground as their form explodes into ink. Three kicks the weapon aside and ducks to avoid a shot from another Octoling before using one of her arms to push the attacker's weapon away from her and the other to aim a dualie right at the attackers head, pulling the trigger and causing them to explode into ink as well.

Three once again rolls out from cover and this time she charges towards the attackers, using her the dodgeroll's her dualies give her to great effect. A roller swings down towards her and she quickly rolls to their left and points the dualies at the attacker, spraying the ink at them until they become another ink stain on the ground. She doesn't get a break however as they don't seem to stop coming, she dodges a shot from an OctoShot and throws a splat bomb to divide the attackers. Eight uses the opening to take out several of the Sanitized Octolings while Three takes care of the other group that split due to the bomb. But quickly they're overwhelmed, nearly surrounded and running out of ink in their ink tanks. They are back to back and doing their best to protect each other from the attackers.

Just when it seemed that they had no escape, and hope seemed to have run out, the lights flicker and dim, and a dynamo roller comes crashing down in the middle of the group of sanitized Octolings attempting to subdue Three and Eight. They retain their defensive stance just in case this new person is hostile towards them as well, but are at least thankful to not be the center of attention for the Sanitized Octolings anymore.

Zod, who's been watching the whole fight from his office notices the new figure and frowns, quickly turning and walking deeper into the office away from the shattered window as to hopefully not be noticed by the person who's just showed up to assist Three and Eight. Fortunately for him, their attention seems to be on the Sanitized Octolings on the club floor rather than his dumbass.

"HRRAAAAA!" The distinctly female voice shouts as the roller swings aggressively, once to the left as the ink coated portion splats several Octolings while the metal cap on the end sends one flying into the opposite wall. Then it quickly swings right and does the same once again, causing the rest of the Sanitized Octolings to take a strategic retreat to a safe distance as to not be hit by the roller at point blank range.

Now that they're no longer surrounded, Three and Eight get a better look at the person who's come to save them, and they instantly realize that it's Callie. She's got a fire in her eyes that they've never seen before, but all the same, they're thankful she's here.

"To the window!" Callie commands as she swings her roller like a bat into a Sanitized Octoling that thought charging at her was a good idea. Callie throws out a splat bomb and swings her roller down, the explosion and the strike creating an opening for them to all get to the window through.

Three and Eight look at the window and spot something they hadn't expected, they spot Marie standing on what looks to be the deck of a helicopter, like the one that Pearl and Marina arrived in to save Eight when she escaped the Metro. Marie throws a similar disk onto the window to the one Three had thrown on the one in Zod's office previously, and within moments the glass pane has shattered, and Marie is providing cover fire with her charger. Zod himself is now nowhere to be seen, he must have ran and hid like a coward.

Quickly, Three and Eight make their way towards the window. Three fires several shots at any Sanitized Octolings that attempt to intercept them, with Callie following close behind providing cover for them to make their escape. High pressure ink whizzes past them as Marie takes out several targets with her charger allowing them a clear path to the window. Three takes a few shots to the side to keep any approaching Octolings from getting too close, and Eight swings her brush to do the same from her side, they're near the window now and almost home free.

But it doesn't go according to plan.

A Sanitized Octoling that was thought to be dispatched manages to throw a splat bomb at the group, it clangs against the window beside the opening that was made and Three turns to the noise just in time for it to explode in her face. Three shrieks in pain as she grabs her eyes, her dualies clattering on the ground and losing her footing. Instead of getting on the helicopter, she trips on the ledge by the window and smacks her head on the platform of the helicopter, causing her to fall unconscious and slip through the gap between the window and the helicopter platform, straight towards the ground far below the club.

Eight's eyes widen in horror, but she quickly replaces her fear with determination. She discards her OctoBrush and Ink Tank, leaping onto the helicopter platform and grabbing a parachute off the wall before leaping out the other side without a word, diving after her lover in a desperate attempt to save her life. Marie doesn't even get the chance to try and stop her as by the time she realizes what's happening, Eight is already plunging head first towards Three.

The wind causes Eight's tentacles to flap wildly, but fortunately her longest ones are tied behind her head so they don't get in the way of her seeing Three as she dives towards her. Eight slips her arms through the straps of the parachute pack, connecting the buckles around her waist and torso, tightening them down as firm as she can while she falls through the sky towards Three's limp body. Fortunately Three's unconscious status has her in a position where she's providing plenty of drag so Eight can catch up to her, hopefully with enough time to pull the chute once she has. The distance between the two of them is closing rapidly and Eight stretches out her arms, ready to grab on to Three once she reaches her.

"GOTCHA!" Eight announces as she finally catches up with Three and wraps her arms around her. She holds Three tightly but quickly realizes she's not going to be able to physically hold on to Three AND pull the cords to her parachute. Fortunately however, there's some extra carabiners on the shoulder straps of the parachute pack and as the ground becomes larger and larger, Eight quickly tries to get them connected to the contact points on Three's ink tank. Finally with two clicks, and some tightening down of the screws used to keep the carabiner's from opening by accident, they're in. "I'm sorry, this might hurt."

Eight pulls the cords on her shoulders and the parachute comes out, their descent quickly and suddenly reduced in velocity greatly. Three's head reacts violently to the sudden change in speed and Eight winces slightly in response, Three's likely going to have some horrible whiplash after this. But she will be ALIVE and given what seemed like was going to happen, Eight will be more than happy to help Three recover from anything she gets as a result of her saving her life.

Finally, they're approaching the ground, maybe still a little too fast, but slowly enough that they'll live. Eight does her best to slow them down but she can only do so much, and they crash into the unforgiving pavement and slide along it for several meters before finally coming to a stop. Eight pulls the release and the chute comes disconnected from her pack, and she simply wraps her arms around Three, holding her closely. She presses her fingers to Three's neck and checks for a pulse and lets out a sigh of relief when she feels it, as well as the gentle rise and fall of Three's chest as she breathes.

"Oh thank the gods. You're going to be okay my dear, I've got you." Eight kisses Three's forehead and chokes back a sob, she can hardly believe that she'd almost lost her. But fortunately, thanks to her quick thinking, she'd managed to keep her alive.

Soon the helicopter lands beside them and Marie runs out, helping get Eight to her feet as they carry Three to the helicopter to get her some medical attention as quick as they can. They disconnect Three from the carabiners that connect her to Eight's parachute pack and the ink tank and parachute pack are both discarded as they lead Three on to the helicopter platform. Callie is already on the phone with the hospital that the Splatoon has a deal with, telling them to expect an emergency patient on the helicopter pad.

Three wakes slightly, looking at Eight as she's carried to the aircraft, she mumbles something under her breath that Eight can't hear, but she needed to say it anyways, before falling unconscious once again.

Eight feels that Three just told her something important, but not being able to clarify what was said before Three passed out means she won't get to find out any time soon. She simply presses another kiss to Three's forehead and takes hold of her hand, hoping that there's nothing major wrong with her partner after that nearly deadly fall.

The words Three spoke that Eight couldn't hear?

"I love you."


	21. 5-1 The chapter where Three's neck hurts

Three awoke to the sun shining on her face, which was something she wasn't too fond of. This is why she usually had her curtains closed if she could help it. But even then, the sun usually didn't shine like this until closer to noon, and Three had been waking up earlier in the day lately as Eight had been trying to get her on a healthier sleeping schedule. So then why was the sun shining _directly_ into her eyes? Maybe she'd had a late night and just slept until the afternoon and simply forgot to close her curtains? Her brain was slow starting up so she decided it was probably best to just get up out of bed and start her day, she'd remember what happened later.

Three tries to raise her right arm to block the sun but finds moving it is much more difficult than usual, almost like something's attached to it, so instead she uses her left arm. Moving her left arm is much more possible but it still takes far more effort than usual, it feels stiff and sore, but she does manage to get it in front of her face so the light isn't going directly into her eyes. Finally without the sun in her eyes she sits up in bed slightly and looks around her room, she didn't feel Eight laying next to her which meant that it was likely later in the day, maybe she was in the bathroom getting ready or something, her eyes blink open and she takes in the imagery of her room under all this light. Only it isn't her room.

The room she's in is all white, but faded slightly like it was white when it was new but it's been a few years since it was built. She hears commotion outside her room but it sounds distant, like whatever it is isn't anywhere near the room she's in, and even then it doesn't sound like something urgent, more like just people rushing around a lot. The door that must be to the outside is a lot larger than the doors she's used to, like it was designed for someone in a wheelchair to be able to easily enter and leave without risking bumping their hands against the doorframe. She doesn't quite understand why a room would need such a wide door though, unless she was in the hospital for some reason.

She looks down at herself and… oh… that is what's going on. She finds herself dressed in a hospital gown and an IV in her arm, she can't make out what she's got dripping into her system but it's likely painkillers of some kind. It's at this moment that Three realizes something else, her neck isn't just incredibly stiff, it's inside of a neck brace, no wonder she has to turn her entire body just to look to the side. Three stares down at herself for a moment before suddenly she remembers everything that happened previously. Maybe it was the night before but she's no idea how long she's been out for.

"W-Wait.. How am I…" Three's entire life flashes before her eyes as she realizes, she came incredibly close to having a face to face meeting with the creators of her world. No way she would've been able to sync with a spawn pad at the rate she was falling. She feels tears prick the edges of her eyes and her breaths get more shallow. She thinks about how devastated Eight would've been had she bit the dust like that, there was still so much she wanted to do and see that she very nearly lost the chance to do with her.

The machines next to her begin beeping wildly as her hearts beat at an increased rate from what they should be, and her oxygen levels drop as she hyperventilates. The door to her room swings open and a Doctor enters, he notices that while she is in a state of panic, she's not an immediate danger to herself, and he approaches softly. He holds his hands up in front of him as non threateningly as possible, making sure not to add to her panic level more.

"Ms. Narakai, please, you're perfectly okay. Just breathe okay? Breathe." He says as he demonstrates the breaths Three should take using his arm to indicate when to breathe in, how long to hold, and when to breathe out by raising it from the base of his chest to the top of it, holding it there, and then lowering it back down to the bottom of his chest. Three fortunately understands and starts following his instructions.

Finally Three's breaths are under control and the Doctor smiles, grabbing the clipboard off the foot of her bed and giving the chart a quick read, nodding to himself every so often as he reviews it. Three doesn't detect any major bad reactions to her chart from him which does bring a level of ease to her mind, she can tell she's not going to die anytime soon which is comforting.

"Okay so good news and slightly not as good news. The good news is you should be on your way home within the next couple days. The not so good news is you'll need to keep that brace on your neck for about two weeks." The doctor smiles reassuringly and Three does visibly calm knowing she'll be able to go home soon, with a slight grumble about how long she's going to need the brace for. She's a side sleeper and the brace means she's gonna have to sleep on her back. You'd think she'd have other issues with the brace but really that's the biggest concern for her at this moment.

"How long have I been here?" Three asks, trying to get a handle on the world finally, now that she knows where she is and why. She wonders if Eight is there, or Jay, or any of her other friends. Do Callie and Marie consider her friends? Or just a coworker? But then there was that thing her and Callie had way back when… anyways back on topic. Three feels mildly disconnected from time as a whole and she needs outside help getting reacquainted.

"Oh! You were brought in two nights ago. And don't worry, we have an agreement with the Splatoon, your identity will be protected Miss Narakai." He again smiles, putting the clipboard back on the foot of her bed. "Oh by the way, you have some visitors, would you like to see them or would you prefer to be left alone?"

Three perks up at that, she's got an ache in her heart and she's hoping that Eight is among the visitors. She could really go for a hug from her right about now. Three has also been meaning to catch up with Jay since they haven't had the chance to talk much lately. Three looks to the doctor and nods.

"Send them in, please." She says, a tinge of hope in her words as she smiles. She knows Eight is likely the reason she's even alive right now, she'd have to find some way to thank the Octoling later, but for now she just needs companionship.

"Of course." The doctor nods and leaves the room, leaving Three alone with her thoughts for a moment.

She thinks about the mission she was just on, how everything seemed to line up strangely perfectly in favor of whomever was targeting them. The message not being able to be translated by Marina, the only person being able to translate it happening to be Marie's contact, and then, that same person having a connection that allowed sanitized Octolings to assault them.

Three shakes her head and puts aside her thoughts for the moment as the door to her room again swings open, this time revealing a very relieved looking Octoling. Eight looked horrible. She looks like she hasn't slept since Three was brought in, her tentacles were faded and looked almost like they were starting to wither a little bit, and her eyes had bags under them that would give the checkout lane at a grocery store a run for its money.

Eight carefully approached Three, seemingly very timid, like she's afraid of what Three might say or do… but when Three opens her arms for a hug, Eight accepts without any hesitation. The two hold each other very tight, Eight was careful not to agitate Three's neck however, and the two of them just softly sighed as they felt the comfort of their lover in their arms.

"I was so worried about you…" Eight says without breaking the hug, her hands gripping the back of Three's hospital gown as she feels the tears prick her eyes again. "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you better… I'm so sorry!"

"Eight… don't be sorry for something that isn't your fault… I knew the risks of the mission, I accepted them… I should be thanking you, you saved my life!" Three holds Eight closer and presses a kiss to her forehead. "I-I love you Eight, I love you so much."

Eight sniffles and holds Three as tightly as she dared, she couldn't bear the thought of losing Three. Three had given her so much since even before they started dating, the first time they spent meaningful time together proved to her that the Inkling did care about her as a person quite deeply. She'd often think back to their date at the cafe, back before they knew how they both truly felt about each other. The booth they sat at which overlooked Inkopolis park, the iced coffee that blew Eight's mind when she found out about it… and the generosity of the Inkling whom Eight had once thought to be the most fearsome and unfeeling Inkling of them all.

"I-I love you too Three…" Eight manages to get out, shaking slightly as her mind still plays out the sights she might've seen had she not been able to catch up with Three as she fell through the sky, the terrifying thought of the orange splatter across the pavement. The only solace Eight could take was that Three was already unconscious, she wouldn't have felt it.

Three scoots to the side a little and invites Eight to join her on the hospital bed, it was plenty big enough for the both of them if they cuddled closely. Eight being able to hold on to Three helped her calm down immensely, and Three too felt more at ease with the presence of her Octoling GF holding on to her.

"Is anyone else here? Or is it just you?" Three finally asks, once the two of them are comfortable and Three's hearts are beating at a safe rate.

"Jay is here too… she stopped in the cafe in the entrance though, had to take her meds." Eight says, resting her head on Three's chest and purring softly as her mind finally stops thinking of what could've gone wrong and instead focuses on what's going right.

"Ah yeah, makes sense, needs to be taken with meals." Three nods, silently wondering when her cousin will stop by to visit, and hoping it's soon.

Three doesn't have to wait very long as there's a knock on the door, followed by an Inkling with similarly orange tentacles to Three's, only much shorter, enters the room.

"Hey Alex, how're you feeling?" Jay says as she walks closer to the pair of cephalopods laying in the hospital bed. Jay was still dressed in her agent gear, likely she'd been out on a mission of her own before coming here, as stray zapfish often do go missing here and there still and they need to be returned.

"Well, I'm not dead… so I'd say I'm doing quite well all things considered." Three says, staring somewhat blankly at her cousin as she enters the room. She didn't mean to come across as cold or uncaring, but her life had genuinely very nearly ended, so to have that not happen was genuinely something to be happy about.

"Well, that's better than the alternative." Jay smiles softly and grabs a chair, sitting next to Three's hospital bed. Jay grabs Three's free hand and holds it softly, hoping that her presence will calm her cousin somewhat. Three does squeeze Jay's hand which tells Jay that she at least appreciates the gesture.

Three closes her eyes and snuggles into Eight as best she can with her neck locked in its brace, still holding Jay's hand as well and taking comfort in the presence of both her cousin and her Octoling partner. She knew she was safe now, and that she had people who cared about her with her, but she still felt a little uneasy. Something about everything that led to her being in this hospital bed just didn't sit right with her.

She didn't bother dwelling in it for too long however, it just made her heart rate spike and that in turn caused a doctor to enter the room to make sure she's not _dying._ Which she figures is totally fair given the circumstances. But still, Three was quite content just laying with her Octoling partner, and holding her cousin's hand. These two things made her incredibly comfortable.

Three figures she's not getting out of the hospital for a few more days, she's still on IV painkillers and they usually don't discharge you until you don't need those anymore. Three focuses on what she could do while she's still in her hospital bed. She could get her laptop brought over so she could work on some projects she'd been putting off, mostly just self indulgent things like writing. Though Three did want to see about what she could dig up about anything relating to the jerk that set them up to be ambushed.

Three was a lot better at research than you'd think upon first glance. Part of it was natural talent, but a lot of it was a honed ability that at least in part came from her time in Kamabo. She became incredibly good at digging through systems and gaining access to information she shouldn't. Snagging the employee level CQ-80 just made her life a lot easier. Three still had it actually, she kept it in her bedside table drawer so it wasn't in a place Eight would see, though she did warn Eight that it was there should she ever need to go through Three's bedside table for any reason.

Three wondered if she could still use its security clearance to access files from within Kamabo. While the technology was no doubt advanced, their security left a lot to be desired. Three found that every CQ-80 was simply imprinted with a code on its processing chip, the employee models had a different code than the regular models, but it was always the same across each one. 31174123 was the code used for the Employee model, and unless the issued a new one to every single active employee within Kamabo, which Three severely doubted, she was willing to bet she could still access _everything_.

She'd have to add that to the list of things to do in the near future, but for now, she was content just to rest. She hoped she didn't have to have the neck brace on for too much longer, it made it really hard to lean down and kiss Eight's head, which she absolutely loved doing when Eight was cuddled into her.


	22. 5-2 Secrets revealed

Three had been discharged from the hospital about five days ago. When she got home the first thing she did was lay on her own bed and take a nap. Eight is insisting on taking care of Three while her neck heals despite the fact that other than having to turn her entire body to look at something beside her, she's fully functional. She won't be clear for turf wars for another month however, even if her neck brace comes off in about a week. Three was actually grateful that Eight was doing things like making food for the two and picking up the groceries and such, it gave Three time to do some… research.

Eight was gone for the day today, she had set aside some time to hang out with Marina and Pearl, and Three insisted that she follow through with it. Three liked having alone time sometimes, and Eight had prepared plenty of food that Three could easily reheat. Eight had left Three with a kiss before disappearing into the distance off the launchpad. Three went over to her bedside table and pulled open the bottom drawer, picking up the small device that lay inside. Her Employee model CQ-80.

Three sat on the couch, a can of soda on the coffee table, a mindless show on the TV for background noise, and the intent to find out just how involved Kamabo actually was with those sanitized Octolings that had ambushed them. Three guessed that if Zod had engineered the entire thing himself, that he's likely skilled enough to hack some hypnoshades and get sanitized octolings to work for him. But it's also just as possible that he was simply paid off to allow them access to his club. Given the size of Kamabo it's reasonable to expect that they'd have the ability to pay off any damages that might be caused by their involvement.

Three pops open her laptop, and using the cable Marina had made for her, connects the CQ-80 to it. She'd gotten pretty damn good at accessing Kamabo's files in her time surviving in Kamabo's facilities, so she managed to connect to their network rather quickly. Three laughed slightly to herself. Old wireless tech had such a limited range that this would never work, but the walls inside Kamabo were so thick that the wireless signal had to be strong enough to get through, which meant that once it hit the open air, it would go incredibly far. Which was good for her because it meant she didn't have to get near Kamabo to find out the information she needed.

Three digs through the files she can find, at first everything seems exactly as it was when she'd last looked, all the files about sanitization and how to achieve it were right there for her to look at. She had ignored those files before but something nagged at her to download them to her computer, maybe it could help in counteracting it… she starts the download quickly and continues digging, she's looking for either a report about troop movements, or a report of systems compromised.

A troop movement would mean that Kamabo orchestrated the attack, which Three did think was quite possible, but a systems compromised report would mean that someone else gained access to the frequency of the Hypnoshades used on the Sanitized Octolings, which also seemed highly plausible. Three found that it was incredibly difficult to find any file that would match the description of either event however, it seemed like everything was exactly like last time she dug through these files, those reports must be buried somewhere in their system, she's sure of it. She finds the report of Tartar's demise quite easily though, and finds that it seemed his AI was entirely housed within the telephone. Which meant that when Pearl blasted it with her princess canon, he would've most likely been wiped out entirely.

After some digging Three finally finds the files she was looking for, something dated to the same day that she and Eight went on their assignment that saw them being ambushed, and resulted in her having the neck brace that she's currently wearing. She digs through the report for any kind of useful information and finally she finds exactly what she was looking for.

* * *

SYSTEM BREACH REPORT

MULTIPLE SANITIZED ELITES COMPROMISED

HYPNOFREQUENCY COMPROMISED

NO ATTEMPT MADE TO RECLAIM COMPROMISED UNITS

ALL UNITS ASSUMED K.I.A.

RESET HYPNOFREQUENCY FOR ALL EXISTING UNITS

NO FURTHER UNITS OR SYSTEMS COMPROMISED

* * *

Three smiles and closes her laptop, Kamabo _wasn't_ behind the attack after all. She saved a screenshot of the report and sent it to Marie, along with the datestamp so Marie knew when the report was from. Three figured that now that this was done and over with, she deserved some kind of treat. Which of course, meant now she had to get up from the couch, ugh.

"Oh the sacrifices I make for chocolate" Three laughs to herself as she stands from the couch and walks over to the kitchen, popping open the freezer and digging around for some kind of sugary snack. She snags out an icecream sandwich and silently celebrates as she unwraps it and tosses the wrapper into the trash bin under her sink. She takes a bite of the sandwich and makes a noise that signifies she's enjoying it, though if someone heard the noise she just made, they might not assume it was due to the consumption of sweets. "I always forget just how much these things fuck"

Three goes back over to the couch and plunks herself down, now done with her laptop and the CQ-80, she puts the both of them on the underside of the coffee table on the small shelf that resides there so they're out of the way and not in direct line of sight should she fall asleep before Eight comes home so Eight won't see them. She turns her attention to the TV and actually starts trying to find something she _wants_ to watch. Eventually she settles on a show that she used to watch when she was younger, cartoons always seemed to calm her mind and that's exactly the kind of thing she needs right now.

She makes a mental note to get some proper food soon, she's not eaten for a few hours aside from the ice cream sandwich she's consuming presently, so she's going to need to eat some actual food before too long. But she doesn't feel super hungry at the moment so she feels okay putting it off for a little while longer. She takes out her phone and checks the time, 2:43pm, Eight likely won't be home for several more hours. Eight and Marina often forgot to keep track of time while they were talking, and Three didn't really mind much. She was happy that Eight had some family here on the surface that she could turn to when she needed to. Three knows how crushing it can feel to not have anyone to turn to and she's glad Eight has a support structure outside of just her.

Three sat her phone on the couch next to her and idly watched the show on the TV, laughing at the bits intended to be laughed at, and just generally enjoying the chance to do some mindless nonsense. Occasionally she'd flip to another channel to see what else was on but she usually wound up back on the same channel as before, watching cartoons. In this moment Three felt somewhat at peace, she only wished two things. That her neck wasn't trapped in the contraption that made it so she couldn't turn her head, and, that Eight was with her and snuggled up under a blanket. Okay maybe Three minds a little that Eight won't be back for ages.

Three tries not to focus on these thoughts for too long however, she knows Eight needs to be able to go out and have her own life. Besides, Three is pretty sure Eight would've had a breakdown if she'd seen the CQ-80, and Three didn't want to cause her partner to deal with that kind of stress if she can avoid it. So Three just, vibes. She watches her show and gets lost in it, and the episode after, and the one after that. It seemed like they were doing a marathon of the entire series today, which was nice, it meant Three could stop flipping through channels and relax a bit. She should really get something to eat soon though, it feels like it's been a while.

Three does not get something to eat, and instead finds herself laying on the couch, it's terrible for her back and with her neck in a brace it's remarkably uncomfortable, however, she's not really focusing on any of that so instead she stares up at the ceiling. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to take a short nap, she'd get something to eat when she woke up for sure. Three lets her eyes fall closed, and sleep takes her quickly, followed very closely by her dreams.

* * *

Three is in a place she doesn't quite recognize, it looks something like a train station only it seems like it's been abandoned for years. However despite this, the ground was surprisingly clean, and the lights were all still lit. Three wandered down the platform before realizing something. There's no stairs nor any elevators, she's stuck on this platform. Was this a trap set for her? Was this some kind of trick? Whatever it was, Three had no intentions of staying trapped where she was.

Three is ready to hop off the pad and start running down the tracks when she suddenly hears something… something that chills her to the core. From a few feet behind her, she hears… the ringing of an old telephone. Three freezes dead in her tracks, and slowly she turns to face the noise. Shock and horror fill her soul as she sees, standing right across from her, is the very same Telephone that hijacked her mind nearly two years ago.

"YOU!" Three spits in rage, walking towards the telephone and trying to think of the most efficient way to turn it into a pile of scraps. But as Three approaches, it does something she didn't expect, something which makes her ink curdle. _It starts to laugh_.

"The mighty Agent Three, revered for her combat ability and feared for her efficiency at taking out Octarians. I must say you would have made an excellent test subject." Tartar's voice rings, every word bouncing around inside of Three's head and making her dizzy. "It's a shame you had to corrupt 10,008, she would've improved my sanitization compound with her fighting knowledge, but you had to go and unlock the rest of her memories… now she's only fit to be a foot soldier for my uprising."

A door opens behind Tartar, and Three hears another voice call out to her, this time however, it's Eight's voice, and it sounds like she's in distress. Three's eyes widen in horror and she freezes for a moment, she can't quite believe what she's hearing, she doesn't _want_ to believe what she's hearing, but once again Eight's voice calls out.

"Three! Please! I'm trapped! Please help me!" Eight's voice cries in pain, Three can hear the panic in her words and she runs past Tartar through the now open door, the room is dark but she can see if she focuses, but looking around she can't see Eight anywhere. She's panicking and trying to find her lover before anything bad can happen to her.

"Eight?! Eight I'm here! Where are you?!" Three calls out in a panic, scanning the room frantically for her lover. She keeps looking across the room, the walls seem barren, the room seems intentionally poorly lit, like it was designed to make her struggle to see what was going on.

"Th-Three… I-I'm so sorry…" Eight's voice calls from just below where Three is looking. Three tilts her head down to the source of her voice and… oh, oh no, oh gods please no. Three's voice is whimpering and wavering, each word sounds like it struggles to escape her lips.

Three covers her mouth in shock as she looks at the sight in front of her, Eight is laid on the ground, her clothes tattered and torn, and there's various tubes going into her arms and her legs. Each tube glowed with pulsating teal ink flowing through it… directly into Eight's body, her sclera are already turning black, and her skin has turned teal. The spots on her body where the tubes connected looked burned and in pain. Eight's hands were trembling, she struggles to reach up to Three but her arms don't have the strength to reach all the way. Eight looks at Three with a pained expression, and tears running down her cheeks.

"Th-Three… please… _RUN_." Eight says, Three can see her last moments of free will fading, Three can't run, she can't bring herself to leave Eight behind like this… She kneels down next to Eight, tears filling her eyes. If she loses Eight like this, she's going out too, she knows she can't bring herself to fire on Eight once she is under Tartar's control, she simply accepts what's going to happen to her because she's staying where she is.

"Eight… I-I'm so sorry… I failed you…" Three wraps her arms around Eight and begins to sob, how could this have happened? How could she have let this happen? She can't believe what's happening, but she can't bring herself to leave Eight's side, she wants to at least give Eight some kind of comfort in her last moments, it's what she deserves.

Three then hears Eight's voice again, only this time it sounds distant, she feels her body shake and a slight pain in her neck, she feels a light panic set in before suddenly...

* * *

Three sits up quickly and lets out a loud gasp, she's panting hard and her clothes are practically drenched with sweat. She looks over to her side and she sees… Eight… Alive and well, and definitely _not_ sanitized. Three doesn't even think, she just grabs Eight and pulls her into a tight hug, her eyes still leaking tears from her nightmare.

"Oh Eight… I-I thought I lost you…" Three presses her head into Eight's shoulder, staining her shirt slightly with tears, though Eight doesn't mind. Eight can tell that Three's dream was horrific and she's more than content to help ease her girlfriend's mind now that it's over.

"Shhh, you're okay my love, I'm okay, I'm right here, I love you." Eight reassures Three, drawing circles on the Inkling's back with her fingers. She can feel Three's hearts slowly stop racing and being beating at a more normal rate, once Three was no longer in a state of panic, Eight gently scoops her into her arms and makes her way towards the bedroom.

The time was 1:27am, Three was carried to bed by her girlfriend, who made sure to get her a change of clothes, and a kiss on the head. Three's mind was put at ease, however Three struggled to sleep that night, fear of what her mind might show her kept her awake, but at least now, Eight was by her side if she needed her. Eventually Three does fall asleep once again, and no more nightmares befall her that night.


	23. 5-3 A much needed talk

Three awoke the next morning to pain. Everything in her body was in pain. Her back ached from sleeping on the couch, her neck ached due to the whiplash she was still recovering from, and her stomach ached because she was an idiot and didn't eat yesterday. Also her eyes hurt because it was bright as fuck and she didn't like it, someone should turn off the sun for a few more hours.

Three thought about staying in bed a while longer… but she could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen, which meant Eight was making something, which made Three's stomach growl so aggressively you'd think it was a tiger ready to pounce. Three sighs and pushes the sheets off of herself and, oh, these aren't the clothes she remembers falling asleep in. Actually now that she thinks about it, she remembers falling asleep in the living room. At like three in the afternoon. Why was it tomorrow?

Three then suddenly remembers… her dream. Her dream was intensely vivid and for once, was not leaving her mind at all. Three's mind would replay every detail of her nightmare for her as though it was a video stuck on repeat. Suddenly she remembers why she'd been brought to bed, she remembers Eight coming home and waking her up, and she remembers how Eight had only cared to help get Three comfortable and back to sleep in a better place. Eight had done so much for her in such a small space of time, what did she ever do to deserve someone like her? Despite the calming memories of Eight's embrace, the haunting image of her sanitized body still lingers in her mind. She hopes her dream was just that, a dream, and not some kind of omen of things to come.

Three stands, pushing her thoughts down slightly, and forcing her best "I'm okay" face as she opens the bedroom door and walks into the rest of her apartment. She makes her way towards the kitchen where Eight was making breakfast for the both of them. As Three approaches she takes in a deep sniff of the food being made and coos softly, Three knew Eight was likely only going out of her way to make breakfast like this as a result of her nightmare last night, but she wasn't about to complain about the reason, everything smelled so good.

"Morning sleepyhead!" Eight beams as she finishes making a stack of pancakes, setting the pan in the sink and splitting the pancakes into two even stacks on two separate plates. She walks over and sets them down on the table, grabbing some cutlery and some syrup for them and setting it all on the table.

"Thank you Eight, this looks delicious!" Three smiles, still pushing down the images in her mind from the nightmare she'd had the night before. She makes sure to give Eight a quick hug and a peck on the cheek to show how much she appreciates everything the Octoling does for her.

Eight can tell that all is not well in the land of Three's brain, but she decides to put off asking her about it until at least after breakfast, if nothing else, Three needed to eat. Eight had gone through the fridge when she got home last night and found that not only had Three not eaten the dinner prepared for her, but neither the lunch. Eight knew that Three didn't order takeout either as there were no remnants of takeout containers anywhere to be seen. Eight knew Three hadn't eaten since breakfast the day before, and she was going to stay home all day today to make sure her lover took care of herself.

The two cephalopods take their seats at the table, sitting close to each other, but not close enough to bump elbows. Three pops open the syrup and begins drowning her pancakes, which causes Eight to giggle softly, she found it cute how much syrup Three liked on her pancakes. Once she was done, Eight had her turn with the syrup bottle, she didn't drown hers like Three did, but there was still a healthy amount of it on her own stack of pancakes now. Eight leans over and gives Three one last peck on the cheek before the pair of them start eating their breakfast.

Three had started eating a lot more sensibly with some gentle encouragement from Eight, she no longer ate with such ferocity that food wound up on her ears, however this was… something else entirely. Three was slowly eating her pancakes, too slowly, like her mind was anywhere but the food on the plate in front of her. Eight knew it wasn't the quality of the pancakes, Three often revered them as the best pancakes she'd ever had, and whenever Three did take a bite Eight could tell she was enjoying them. No, there was something bothering Three, and Eight was going to get to the bottom of it.

Eventually the pair finished eating, and Eight set about cleaning the kitchen, getting dishes put away and loading up the dishwasher. Eight couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in her heart, when she came home last night Three was asleep on the couch, and Eight was going to simply carry her to bed without waking her… but then she started screaming. She was screaming things like "NO!" and "PLEASE NOT THIS!" and Eight couldn't help but wonder what had happened in her dream to make her react like that… and then there's the pain in her eyes when she woke up and saw Eight, like she'd seen a ghost, it ate at Eight to know that something could bother her girlfriend like that, to make her fearful even in what should be the sanctity of sleep.

Eight finishes cleaning the kitchen and then motions for Three to sit on the couch next to her, she knows this isn't going to be an easy thing to talk about, but she can't help Three if she doesn't know what's going on. She spotted Three's CQ-80 on the underside of the Coffee table and figured she went digging through Kamabo's files, which likely explains why Three was so content letting her go out with Pearl and Marina yesterday. Three was always so considerate when it came to Kamabo, she knew not to bring it up unless she had to, and she knew how it affected Eight. But by now, Eight had a plethora of other memories she was wrestling with that she could use to keep herself distracted from the Metro. Right now, she needs to know what's going on in Three's mind, and if it involves Kamabo, so be it. Eight would just have to remind herself to make an appointment with her therapist soon… and probably get Three to do the same.

"What's up Eight? You seem concerned…" Three takes her seat on the couch as Eight does the same, already locking their hands together. Three makes a mental note of how warm and comforting Eight's hand is, nothing like the cold she felt in her nightmare… This was real, and she was safe with her girlfriend in their apartment. That helped her calm down considerably.

"I-I am concerned Three… concerned for you…" Eight looks at Three, concern in her eyes but with the warmest smile she can muster given the circumstances. "Last night when I got home… you… were screaming in your sleep."

"Oh" Three stares at the ground, realizing that she's going to have to tell Eight what happened in her nightmare now, and wishing very much that Eight had just crashed at Marina and Pearl's for the night so Three didn't have to bring up Kamabo directly to Eight like this, especially because of what happened in her nightmare. She didn't want to put Eight through that, Eight had done so much for her already, she felt… almost guilty for how much Eight has been doing for her lately.

"Three, you know I'm here for you right? I love you, and I don't want to see you suffering alone…" Eight gently rubs Three's hand with her thumb, squeezing it lightly to try and ease Three's mind. Eight could tell that Three didn't want to talk about her nightmare, but Eight also knew that Three NEEDED to talk about it. Eight wasn't going to just sit and let her partner suffer. "I-I Normally wouldn't pry, but… when you woke up… you looked into my eyes like you didn't believe what you were seeing… in your dream did I… hurt you? Are you afraid I'm going to do something to you?"

"NO! No! Nothing like that at all!" Three reassures Eight, she could tell that Eight's mind had been playing the possible reasons for how she reacted both in her sleep and when she woke up, and she figured the best option now was to just tell Eight what happened, and they could handle the resulting consequences after. Three squeezes Eight's hand and the two of them relax slightly, and finally Three begins explaining. "I love you too Eight, more than I ever thought possible. I'll tell you what happened in my nightmare but… it's not going to be easy for you to hear."

Eight smiles her soft welcoming smile, and brings her hand up to cup Three's cheek, leaning in and giving her a soft kiss to lighten the both of theirs tensions. Eight could tell it helped Three as she no longer had a look on her face like she sensed a charger waiting to pick her off as soon as she grabbed the Rainmaker. Three took in a deep breath and looked Eight in the eyes, her expression telling her that it's going to be difficult to hear AND to say. Eight mentally braces herself for whatever might come, but she could never have prepared herself for the truth.

"Okay. It started out and I was… in the Metro…" Three starts, glancing at Eight too gauge her reaction. As expected, shock, the only reminder they'd had of Kamabo in the past year was the sanitized Octolings that ambushed them, and she knew the both of them had tried not to think about it too much for both of theirs sake. But the shock doesn't last long, Eight remembers the CQ-80 under the coffee table and realizes it's likely connected.

"Okay… so Kamabo… do you know… why?" Eight asks, trying to remain supportive but feeling her mind start flashing memories, the ever present bomb strapped to her back, every time she heard C.Q. Cumber say Test Failed. But she pushed those thoughts down and focused only on Three for the moment, she'd just have to schedule another appointment with her therapist, boy would he love to hear the story of why she's having flashbacks now.

"I think… it might be because I went digging through their files yesterday. I managed to find their information on how they sanitize Octolings, and was thinking maybe that info could be used to help counter it." Three explains, glancing over to the coffee table where the CQ-80 was still situated. She was still nervous, she really wishes she didn't have to give Eight the details of her nightmare, but Eight also deserves to know the truth.

"So it was on your mind when you fell asleep?" Eight prods, trying to get as much out of Three as she can, to hopefully help her not have these kinds of dreams in the future, she hates seeing Three suffer. She wants to make sure to do everything she can to ensure Three never has the kind of dream that has her screaming in agony, Three doesn't deserve that, even in a dream.

"Sort of, I found the files I was looking for originally, then after I fell asleep watching TV by accident. That was at about… Three in the afternoon." Three continues, still glancing to see Eight's reaction to every word she says. Eight puts the information she has with the information Three has given her, and she realizes that Three's nightmare very easily could be caused in part by the lack of food in her system. Before she can respond however, Three continues explaining. "And then when I fell asleep, the dream happened."

Eight nods, holding Three's hand tightly and supporting her, signalling for her to continue. She can feel Three's hearts beating faster, and so she takes a moment to get her to breathe. Three realizes that she'd been taking shallow breaths and quickly corrects the issue. Once her breathing and heart rate were under control, Three once again continues telling Eight what happened in her nightmare.

"So, the telephone… Tartar, he was there. When I approached him he laughed at me… and then… h-he…" Three feels the tears pricking at her eyes, a whimper escaping her lips already. Three can still see everything so vividly in her mind, but the one thing that always sticks out to her, is how Eight's eyes looked in the nightmare. The black sclera, teal iris, and empty pupils. But Eight still didn't know what Three saw.

"Oh Three… did he… hurt you?" Eight leans in, ready to pull Three tightly against her chest at a moment's notice, this nightmare sounds worse by the second. Eight could see tears starting to prick the edges of Three's eyes and it causes her hearts to ache. She hates how Kamabo can still be hurting them, it was supposed to be well in the past now, why was it still following them like this? It wasn't fair to either of them.

"No… not exactly." Three sniffles, pushing her emotions down for just a moment, she's going to get to the end of this nightmare. Once she's done explaining it she'll allow herself to actually break down and sob. "It was you… he-he… sanitized you… I was too late… I couldn't save you."

Eight was shocked, she never would've anticipated that Three would see these kinds of things in her nightmares. No wonder she looked so afraid when she woke up, and why she looked like she didn't believe Eight was real when she did. Three thought she'd lost her forever, and it tore at Eight's hearts to know that was something that Three's mind would do to her.

"Oh, Three, I-I'm so sorry!" Eight quickly pulls Three into a tight hug, holding Three's head against her chest and kissing it softly, she's not going to let anything hurt Three, especially not Kamabo. "I promise, I won't let that happen… I won't ever leave you… I love you so much Three."

"I love you too Eight." Three openly sobs and just curls into Eight, she focuses on how warm Eight feels, and how the soft skin of her hand feels so wonderful in her own, she focuses on how happy and grateful she is to have Eight in her life, and how she has no idea where she'd be right now without her.

Eight and Three remain in each other's embrace for what feels to them like an eternity, and yet not nearly long enough. Three's tears dried long ago, both of their hearts now beating normally. Eight gets an idea for something she can do that might help Three slightly.

"Hey Three… would it help if I maybe rubbed your shoulders a bit? You always seem so tense and maybe that might help?" Eight inquires as she gently draws circles on Three's back with her fingers, waiting for the Inklings response to her inquiry.

"It might… if it's not too much trouble?" Three looks up at Eight, hope in her eyes as she imagines what it might feel like to not have so much tension held in her body. Eight nods and motions for Three to spin around and she does.

"Just tell me if I'm rubbing too hard alright? I don't want to hurt you… and I'll do my best to work around your neck brace." Eight smiles and puts her hands on Three's shoulders, digging her thumbs into the soft skin of her back eliciting a pained groan from Three. Eight could tell that Three had a lot more tension in her back than she really should. "Lover, you should… maybe think about getting a massage from a professional at some point, they'd be able to get out more knots than I could."

"I keep meaning to… I keep not doing it." Three grimaces but because the tension is leaving her body, the pain is somewhat pleasant. It's like removing something that's lodged into your skin, it hurts like hell to remove, but once it's gone it's immeasurably better.

"I can help you schedule it, I just want to make sure you take care of yourself alright?" Eight digs into Three's back and starts working out some of the deeper knots, she hears Three whimper slightly but Three gives the thumbs up to her meaning she can continue, a silent signal they'd established long ago due to… reasons… which proved to be useful in this moment.

Three and Eight would spend a majority of the day like this, sitting together and taking care of each other. Eight called up her therapist to schedule an appointment and got Three to do the same. Eight made sure Three ate a proper meal for lunch and dinner, and she was happy to see Three had a much easier time eating because her mind was finally clear of her nightmare, at least enough for her to function.

When night rolled around, Three looked at their bed apprehensively. She wasn't sure she wanted to go to sleep, for fear of seeing the same images all over again. But Eight reassured her that she'd be safe, and that if something did happen, that Eight was right there next to her to help in any way she could.

Three did not have any nightmares that night, and slept peacefully in the arms of her girlfriend.


	24. 6-1 The time has come

Three was a lot of things. She was tough. She was fierce. She was a skilled fighter. She was also gentle, kind, and loving. But if there was one thing that Three was absolutely and unequivocally NOT… it was subtle. Three has the hardest time being even slightly subtle in any way shape or form, at least when it comes to showing her affection to Eight. So now, two years after they'd moved in together, Three is faced with the ultimate conundrum… being subtle enough that Eight doesn't catch on to her plans.

Three knew better than to try and sneak away while the two of them were at the mall together, she'd catch on far too easily. No, Three needed HELP getting her plan into action. Three had managed to get a hold of Marina and explained her situation, and plan, to her. Marina was more than happy to help Three with her endeavours, and seemed almost excited about the whole plan as well. Marina agreed that she and Pearl would occupy Eight for the day so Three could do the one thing she can't risk Eight catching her doing under any circumstances… She needs to buy a ring.

The plan is simple. Pearl and Marina are going to take Eight on an outing of some kind, Three told them to stay away from the mall because that's where the jewelry store is and she needs to not get caught inside there. Three has the entire day to get her task done, which is good because she also has a handful of other errands to run as well.

"Are you SURE you're okay with this?" Eight asks Three as she slips her coat on over her shoulders, giving her girlfriend a concerned glance.

"I'm sure! Besides I've got some of my own things to get done, it'll give me a chance to pick up some food without you judging my choice of juice." Three chuckles and smiles, prompting Eight to giggle slightly in response.

"Alright well… Just try not to spend too much time cooped up in here by yourself, alright?" Eight gives Three a quick kiss on the lips and smiles, the buzzer goes off shortly after meaning Marina and Pearl are here. "Ah, I gotta go, I love you!"

"Love you too!" Three calls after Eight as she runs out the door. Once Eight is gone and the door is closed, Three runs back into her bedroom and opens up her bedside table, digging through it to get to the bottom. "Come on I know it's in here… AHA! Gotcha!"

Three pulls out a small pamphlet from the jewelry store in the mall, and a specific ring is circled. It's a three gemstone ring, and Three knows exactly what each gemstone is going to be. The two smaller ones are going to be gemstones that match their eye colours, or at least, the natural eye colours. So orange on one side, and purple on the other, to represent Three and Eight respectively. In the middle, the big gemstone will be diamond, because it's the best gemstone and Eight deserves the best. Three has been labouring over the gemstone choice for months at this point, but she was more than happy with the decision she came to, she just hopes Eight appreciates it.

Three pockets the pamphlet and grabs a leather jacket off the coat rack, slipping her arms into it and grabbing her keys as she heads out the door. She's got a very basic look today but thanks to Eight she's been slowly improving her own fashion sense. Something about looking nice made her feel more confident in herself, which she absolutely needed because she was a nervous wreck about everything else she had to do today. She had a pair of black lace up shoes on her feet with blue jeans around her legs, and a dark red tee shirt that said "Yeah I'm gay, keep walking" in even darker red. Subtle, yet effective. She also now had on the black leather jacket that she'd grabbed moments ago, and a black bandanna that wrapped around the top of her head above her ears.

"Okay, let's get this done." Three says to herself as she pushes open her door, locking it behind her, and making her way up the stairs to the launchpad. She has a mental list of everything she needs to get done today but the only thing that she absolutely cannot fail to get done is getting this ring. She inputs the mall into the control panel for the launchpad, and soon she's flying towards it at top speed.

Eight, Pearl, and Marina were all very excited to be spending time together today. Marina hadn't gotten to spend much time with Eight lately due to, well, Three. Marina wasn't upset about this, she knew Eight had to find her place in inkling society. When Marina thinks about it, she sometimes chuckles to herself at how things played out. Herself and her sister, both wound up falling for inklings, despite everything they were taught growing up.

"So, what's the plan for today? You were both pretty cagey about the details so I assume it's something big." Eight smiles as she walks through Inkopolis park with Pearl and Marina, chuckling lightly to herself as she thinks about what sort of extravagant plans that Pearl and Marina must have made.

"Well, truth be told we really just wanted a chance to hang out. We haven't had much of a chance to catch up recently so we thought we would take it easy. Go to lunch, maybe a movie or something, just hang out." Marina smiles, trying very hard not to let on that Three put them up to this whole thing.

"Ooohhh! Exciting!" Eight giggles as they walk through the park and make their way towards Inkopolis Square where they can stop for some lunch.

Three, on the other hand, was having one hell of a time. She had been at the mall for a grand total of ten minutes and she was already completely lost. The map she had was outdated and it seemed like every single shop decided to change where they were inside of it. She was getting frustrated but she wasn't going to leave without accomplishing her mission. She was Agent Three, she could save the Great Zapfish and be home in time for dinner, there's no way in hell she's failing to get a ring to propose with!

Finally after what felt like an eternity, Three found the jewelry store! Her legs were sore and she swears she's walked more through the mall in this one trip than all of her previous trips to it combined. But she's found the jewelry store at long last. It's now time for her to enter and get her thing done. She walks in reaching into her pocket and pulling out the pamphlet, looking at the name of the store on it and confirming that it does match the name of the store she's entering.

Once she's by the counter, an employee walks up to her and flashes her a smile, spotting the pamphlet in her hands and the very clearly circled ring, making a mental note of where it is in the store but not going out of her way to grab it until asked for it as she doesn't want to come off as prying.

"Good afternoon! Welcome to Inkopolis Jewelers, what can I do for you today?" She asks as she stands across from Three, whom is now slightly struggling to form words. Fortunately, Three's nervousness is quickly pushed down as she remembers why she's here in the first place.

"Ah, y-yes hi… I would like to purchase a ring if I could? I-I know what gemstones I want and I have the ring size as well." Three pulls out another sheet of paper, she'd had to somehow take Eight's ring size without her noticing which was a lot more difficult than Three had originally expected. Eight wakes up EARLY. Three eventually resorted to just not going to sleep one night because there was no other option.

"Wonderful! Is it for yourself or is it for someone else?" The employee asks, trying to be polite but knowing full well that no one comes into a jewelry store this nervous unless they're buying something for someone else, and if it's a ring, it's often an engagement ring.

"It's for s-someone else… I'm gonna propose to my girlfriend, we've been together for like, three and a half years, and the time just kinda felt right ya know?" Three rubs her neck awkwardly, she's hoping to just get the ring and be done with this part. She's nervous enough about the entire thing to the point that she has an entire plan for how to propose written in a notebook that's hidden in her bedside table.

"Aww that's so sweet! I'd be happy to help! Okay so you said you knew what ring and what size right?" The employee asks as she waits for Three to either hand the papers over or read off their contents to her.

"Ah yes, um, okay so the circled one is the ring I want…" Three hands the pamphlet over to the employee, blushing lightly as she thinks about presenting it to Eight. "And um, here, this has the size and the gemstones I want…"

Three hands the other sheet of paper over as well and the employee graciously accepts them. She nods and goes into the back to grab the correct size ring and see if they have the gemstones that she wants. After what feels to Three like three halves of an eternity, the employee returns with another sheet of paper.

"Okay so we need to set the gems into the ring which will take a little bit of time, fortunately we don't actually have any other ring orders so it will only take about two hours. Would you like to put a deposit down or just pay it all now?" The employee hands the sheet of paper over to Three with the total price of her order on it. Three had mentally prepared herself for how high it was going to be so she's not shocked, but it still stings a little bit. But she tells herself that Eight is worth it.

"I may as well pay it all now, just rip the bandaid off all at once right?" Three laughs awkwardly and pulls out her money, paying for her order in full. She then realizes that she has to kill a couple of hours before she can actually snag the ring and go home. Fortunately she does have a handful of other things she needs to get done so hopefully by the time she's done those things the ring will be ready.

Three walked through the mall and found herself at another store she never thought she'd have set foot in before she started dating Eight. A store that sells natural soaps. Now Three wasn't some nut about having all natural products in her home and neither was Eight, however these places often were the only place that Eight could go to get a soap for her tentacles that didn't irritate them. As a result of this, Three found something else out. The all natural soaps tended to not irritate the scars and scrapes that her agent work left on her body, which was actually a big reason she rarely used soap in the past.

Three didn't like smelling like body odor, but it was preferable to the stinging all over her body that resulted from the abrasive commercial soaps that you buy at the grocery store. Fortunately once she and Eight went shopping together, Eight recommended Three at least try some of the natural soaps, and to her surprise she found that she didn't react at all to the natural soaps. She thinks she likely just has sensitive skin in general as well, so the natural soap is better for her anyways.

She doesn't spend much time in the store however, she quickly snags the products she needs and takes them to the counter, paying for her order again and heading to the next store on her list. The next store is going to eat up more of her time which is good, she needs to eat up a handful of hours after all. She's not actually going to buy anything here today, but she does need to narrow down some options. She walks into the furniture store and makes her way over to where the couches are. The couch in her living room was fine sure, but it was nearly six years old and was due for a replacement. She'd narrow it down to a few options and then come back with Eight to make the final decision.

She seemed to like the fabric couches over the leather ones. The leather ones were far more expensive and she found that she couldn't sit on them for nearly as long because she'd just get too hot since the leather doesn't breathe like the fabric ones do. But she did find a couple of both that she wouldn't mind sitting in her living room for the foreseeable future. Sometimes Three would think about maybe getting a house instead of an apartment, still a small house but it would allow Eight to have a more dedicated spot for her music equipment. Hell she'd be able to get more than the limited stuff she has now. Maybe once she presented the ring to her they could start thinking about things like that. Three never thought she'd move out of her apartment before she met Eight, and now here she is fantasizing about them sharing a house.

Three's phone goes off and she answers, it's just the jewelry store telling her that the ring is ready to be picked up. She jots down the couches she liked into the notes on her phone and then made her way back over to the jewelry store, her mind still stuck on thoughts of how she and Eight are going to spend the rest of their lives together and what adventures they might get up to. She smiles to herself as she picks up the ring, putting it in her pocket. She can feel it in her ink, something big is coming, and she's excited to start the next chapter of her life.

Three heads home with her purchases, she walks rather than super jumping as she needs all the time she can get to think of the perfect way to present the ring to Eight. She walks by Inkopolis park and spots a clearing by the lake where she pictures what it would look like closer to sunset. She blushes and smiles, it's perfect. Now she just has to figure out how to get Eight to take a walk with her to the park without making her plans too obvious. Excitedly she runs the rest of the way home, she's got to make sure she has proper date clothes cleaned and ready to go for their next date night.


	25. 6-2 This isn't ideal

Everything was dark. Her head felt like it was in a vice and her entire body ached. Her wrists burned. Slowly Three regained her consciousness, and she realized she wasn't in Inkopolis anymore. She shakes off her wooziness and tries to clear her head but finds her memories are hazy, she nearly can't recall her own name. She tried to move but found her wrists were bound, she tries shifting to a squid to slip through them but her body refuses to change forms, she's stuck in her humanoid shape. She struggled against her restraints, something about them stung horribly and made her feel sick. There was a familiar smell but Three couldn't quite put her finger on it. Maybe if she could recall how she got here she could figure out how to get out...

She tries to remember what she was doing before this happened. She had been out on another date with Eight. They were walking in the park, hand in hand. She'd planned the entire day just to get the moment she wanted. They'd spent the entire day turfing and they were taking the long way home just so they could spend a few moments together in Inkopolis park when it wasn't busy, or at least, that's what Three had told Eight.

Three had been trying to find the perfect moment to ask Eight the big question, the question that involved the ring that had been burning a hole in her pocket as she tried to find the words she needed to present it to Eight. She remembers seeing the sunset off the horizon over the nearby lake, how the colours danced across the water. How the scene felt just perfect. Three remembers struggling to find words. She remembers Eight looking at the same sunset across the lake. She had reached into her pocket and was ready to do it, she was ready to ask the question. But then something happened...

She remembers being taken.

She remembers feeling something, or rather someone, grabbing her from behind, pulling her to the ground and then dragging her away by her arms. She panicked and being unable to fight she instead tried to call for help. The ring box landing on the ground where she once stood.

"Eight! Help!" Three called, but whatever had grabbed her was fast, by the time Eight turned to look she was already disappearing into the horizon. Three remembers crying as she tries to escape the clutches of the one who took her, hadn't she and Eight suffered enough?

Then she remembers blackness taking her. Whatever had snatched her had made sure she was knocked out cold before she was carried too far. Her head still hurt from where she was struck. Maybe that's why she was struggling to recall most things. She couldn't see very well either but that could be just from the darkness of the room she was in.

Whatever or whomever it was that had taken her had targeted her specifically. Why that is she had no idea. But here she was. She prayed it had only targeted her, and not any of her friends. Especially not Eight. But they likely would've taken Eight at the same time as her if they had wanted to do so. Maybe this had something to do with when Zod set them up, but that was so long ago it was a bit of a stretch to assume they were connected events. They'd figured that the whole ordeal with Zod had simply been him trying to get back at Marie for rejecting him, which seemed plausible enough, he's a jerk after all.

Three then heard a sound, it sounded somewhat like a heavy metal door opening and then closing from across a hallway. She then heard footsteps, they were heavy and metallic, and they were coming closer. Heavy metallic footsteps echoed in Three's ears as she tries to figure out where she is and why she was taken… though she's sure she'll find out soon enough.

Three struggles harder against her restraints, still unable to shift into a squid and escape, the footsteps are getting closer. Three pulls harder, her wrists burn and ache, in moments the source of the sound will be upon her. Three lets out a defeated sigh, and finally the source of the footsteps enters the room. The door swings open and an authoritative THUD can be heard when it closes again, followed by mechanical whirring indicating it was dead bolting itself shut. She's trapped in the room with whatever just entered.

The figure was tall, standing about 6 feet high. It's body looked like it was made primarily of metal, plastic, and electric components. One of the few things Three could make out was the Kamabo logo stamped on what would be the left pec on a living being. The figure's head was… terrifying. It looked almost identical to the head of the statue that Eight had covered in ink and saved the world from.

"Hello." The figure says in a somewhat robotic voice. "It's nice to see you again."

"Who the FUCK are you?!" Three spits. She doesn't care who this is, she puts up her bravest face, the rage and fire in her eyes the same as when she'd faced foes in October Valley. She wasn't going to be intimidated by a robot.

"Oh don't tell me you forgot me so soon, after I gifted you that lovely mark on your face there." The figures face didn't move, its mouth simply lit up when it spoke, but there was venom in those words and it stung Three's ears as she heard them.

Three's eyes went wide as she processed what it just said. No, it couldn't be, Eight had destroyed him! Three examines the figure more closely, it looks almost human save the large amounts of metal and plastic used for its body. It was as though it had created a body for itself from old artwork of what humans supposedly looked like.

The figure chuckles, filling the room with overwhelming dread. Three's hearts sink as she feels a surge of terror run through her body. She realizes that he knew how to get to her, he knew where she was and likely that meant he knew where she lived. Just how much of her life did he know?

"Forgive me, you must not recognize my new form. I'm Tartar, and you are my prisoner." His face doesn't change, given that it's made of molded metal and plastic, but his tone indicates that he'd be smirking if he could.

Three growls and struggles against her restraints, groaning in pain as her wrists burn and ache in response to her attempts to escape. Her feeble attempts at escaping prompt another chuckle from Tartar.

"Oh you like those restraints? They're designed specifically to prevent you from shifting forms. Small needles with just the smallest amount of my wonderful sanitization compound injected into your body keeping you from being able to change forms." His robotic voice snickers, he's enjoying the terror that he's causing Three to experience.

Three's eyes fill with fear and she tries even harder to rip her arms out of the restraints, knowing the sanitization ink is involved scares her deeply. She wants nothing to do with it. She can already feel the scar on her face starting to warm up, she'd gone so long without a reaction that she wasn't sure she could handle the pain anymore.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not going to take over you like I did last time. No. This time it's MUCH more personal." Tartar moves slightly away from Three, and seems to wheels some sort of cart closer to her. She can't see what the cart contains as it's covered by a white sheet, but the fact that he brought anything near her terrifies her. "This time, I'm going to make you suffer for what you did to me and my new world."

He removes the sheet that laid over top of the cart, revealing all manner of knives and other various objects that made Three shudder on sight. She very much did not want to find out what Tartar had in store, but by the looks of the instruments before her, she's not making it out of this unscathed… if she makes it out at all.

"You see, I had been working on this form of mine for quite some time. But the events that lead to my old forms defeat accelerated my plans." There's no emotion behind these words. He's monologging because he can. He knows Three can do nothing to escape. "I no longer have the means to wipe the planet clean of you disgusting creatures, but that is also no longer my goal. I have waited many long years for a worthy successor to the Humans that created me, and you just had to take it away from me. So now, I am going to show you true pain."

Three watches in horror as he picks up a large knife, it looked like it was as long as the distance from her elbow to her wrist if you included the handle, she can almost hear a smirk as he picks up another object, he presses a button and a flame shoots from the end. He brings the two objects together, heating the blade of the knife until it's almost glowing.

"I've always wondered, how sensitive ARE those tentacles on the tops of your heads?" He moves closer to Three who struggles to get away, anything but endure what Tartar has in store, but her attempts are fruitless as she is completely helpless to escape him as he approaches.

He presses the flat end of the blade firmly against the middle of her right tentacle, the searing pain roaring through her body, she lets out an agonized scream as she feels the heat burning and scarring her. It's an agonizing sensation like nothing she's felt before, even the sanitization scar across her face didn't burn like this does. Tears roll down her cheeks as she tries blocking out the pain but she can do nothing but focus on it.

"Oh wonderful." Tartar chuckles, pulling the knife away and finally allowing her a brief respite from the pain. "That is going to make this all the more enjoyable."

He grabs a needle off the stand and jabs it into Three's neck and injects the substance into her. She feels it course through her body and she realizes that she feels more alert than before, her hearts begin beating faster and her breaths become faster… she has to assume that he just injected her with a dose of adrenaline, but as to why she has no idea.

"I am going to ENJOY making you pay." Tartar taunts, Three can hear the smirk that his robotic face will not display. He brings the flame to the blade again, warming it back up for his next instance of torture.

"M-my friends won't let you get away with this, they'll find you." Three feels the tears already welling in her eyes, ready to fall down her cheeks again. Three feels more terror at this moment than she has ever felt at any other point in her life, not even facing down Octavio by herself had her this terrified.

Tartar brings the knife close to Three's face making her wince in fear, the heat from the blade warming her face and causing her great worry over what he plans to do with it. She's completely at his mercy and he shows no signs of concern over her wellbeing.

"I'm counting on it." He sneers, and before giving her any time to consider what he meant, he brings the blade of the knife away from her face and starts to press the sharp edge against the same tentacle he had just burned moments before. Three's eyes shoot wide and her pupils shrink.

"No!" Is all she can say as tears now freely roll down her cheeks, he hasn't even done anything yet however she knows what's coming and she's terrified.

Tartar responds by slowly, excruciatingly slowly, pressing the knife harder so it breaks the solid ink layer, and slowly the knife slides through her tentacle. Three wails in agony. Her screams piercing the veil of the heavens. She bangs her head against the table she's strapped to trying to focus on anything other than the searing pain but she can't. She now realizes why he'd given her that adrenaline, to force her to stay awake and endure the suffering. The ink in her tentacle boils and solidifies from the heat, the pain searing through her entire body. She can do nothing but scream and whimper as she feels the blade slowly cutting through more and more of her form. Her eyes are forced shut as she struggles against her restraints and wails in absolute agony. The only thing to escape her tightly shut eyelids are the tears they cannot hold back.

Tartar chuckles like the psychopath he is, enjoying the suffering he is causing and knowing that he's far from done with Three. He can hear the sizzling of the ink in her tentacle as it boils and hardens from the searing heat of the blade as he forces it through.

The searing pain of the blade disappears suddenly, and a wet flop can be heard on the floor, the only pain left is from the damage that remains. She looks down and realizes he's cut her tentacle completely off! The stump where it was once connected to her head was charred and calloused, she knew what that meant, her tentacle has been severed and burned, it was gone forever. Tears well up in her eyes as she realizes that it won't grow back, she's damaged permanently.

Three had never cared much about her appearance, but she had personally always liked how her tentacles looked, and now she'd never get that again. She could no longer put her tentacles back into a ponytail to match Eight, she could no longer style her tentacles together. She had lost a piece of herself. She cries as the pain and her emotions overwhelm her, she wants this to just be a nightmare, she wants to wake up and be in Eight's arms. She wants anything but what she's experiencing now.

Tartar then jammed the knife directly into her shoulder, pulling her focus away from her tentacles and again causing her to scream in unimaginable agony. The knife was still hot so the wound cauterized quickly, but the pain was more intense as it had cooled slightly, meaning the process was slower. She groaned in despair, Tartar only chuckled.

"Oh don't cry, we're only just beginning." He pulls the knife from Three's shoulder causing her to wince. "When I am done with you, you're going to be the best soldier in my army. And you're going to end those pathetic friends of yours with your own hands."

He sets the knife down then grabs a smaller one, he doesn't bother to heat up this one and instead instantly jabs it into her thigh. Three shrieks in pain, her form is unstable but she doesn't splat, she knows she's taken enough damage at this point that any connected spawn point would have automatically had her reforming. The horror fully dawns on her as she realizes there's no spawn point within range, and if she dies here, that's it. She's gone.

"Finally realizing your true situation? Good." Tartar taunts before continuing into an explanation, he doesn't want her to get the wrong idea of his intentions after all. "In order to turn you into a true soldier in my army, we need to do more than just mind control you. That simply left too much of you able to fight back and resist. We need to fully sanitize you, but to do that, we need to drain you of that pathetic ink that flows through you first."

He forcibly yanks the knife out of her thigh and she feels her ink starting to leak out of the puncture. Her form locks down and slows her hearts, the ink leaking from the wound slows dramatically but she can feel her form destabilizing. It's struggling to hold together. She knew that if she took too much more damage, she wouldn't be able to respawn even if a powered spawn point was nearby. She feels her body try to solidify, her skin layer of ink becoming thicker to try and stave off more abuse. It's a natural response but she feels herself calm as she realizes her body is fighting back

Tartar simply laughs, with a disgusting mechanical laugh. It's like he can sense her body's response and almost revels in it… like it was what he planned all along.

"Oh my dear sweet child, I'm afraid you're doing exactly what I need you to. That thicker outer layer will keep you in tact while we submerge you, and then you will truly be entirely mine." His voice is calm and cold, sending a chill down Three's spine as his words reach her ears.

Three struggles harder against her restraints, if her form is fighting _sub_consciously, she's going to fight _consciously_. She pulls hard on her wrist restraints, they burn and feel like they're digging harder into her, but she doesn't give up. It feels like she's ripping the skin, it burns and aches but it's better than anything that Tartar would do to her if she doesn't escape.

"I... Won't let you... WIN!" Three stammers between breaths, trying desperately to both escape as well as make herself believe that maybe she could win. She has to win, not just for her own sake, but for everyone she loves. If she's sanitized, she knows her friends wouldn't be able to splat her… they wouldn't be able to take the shot, she knows that if she was used that Tartar would win. She had to fight.

Tartar places his cold robotic hand on Three's shoulder, and squeezes hard, causing the fresh wound to ache and making her groan in pain. It stings like nothing else she's ever felt before and she hates every second. He leans in so whatever it is that speaks is close to her ear and he somehow whispers into her ear.

"I won as soon as you were brought to me, this is just me having fun" Tatar pulls away from her as she looks up at his form with disgust and fear, whatever happens she just wants it to be _over._

Without warning Tartar mercilessly jabs the knife into her stomach, causing her vision to blur and her breathing to stop for a moment. Again he rips the knife from the wound and ink begins leaking from the opening. She's beginning to feel weak. Her body feels light and her head is fuzzy. She knows she's lost a lot of ink and unless she can stop it somehow, it's going to be replaced by Kamabo sanitization. She's going to be the reason her friends die.

Confident that she's now out of it enough to move her to the sanitization chamber, Tartar releases the restraints on her wrists. They make a loud hiss and thunk as Three falls on the floor. The door unlatches itself and two sanitized octolings walk in, if Three was conscious she'd question why they were still wearing hypnoshades if they were sanitized, but presently she's too busy trying not to die.

"Take her to chamber B, she's already been prepped." Tartar commands. The two octolings that walked in grab hold of Three and carry her away from the table she was strapped to and towards one of the chambers at the back of the room. She feels her strength lessening and she feels her ink pressure drop… she's lost nearly half of her ink now, soon there won't be any of it left. She lets out a quiet sob and she whispers what will become her last words.

"I'm sorry, Eight… I love you."


	26. 6-3 No title

Callie's head was absolutely killing her. She felt like she'd been hit by a truck then after that truck hit her it decided to back up over her just for good measure, before hitting her again and driving off. She sat up and took in her surroundings. She doesn't remember drinking anything last night, hell she doesn't even think she's had anything to drink in the past month. Looking around she sees... the ocean? She also sees trees and grass and she tastes dirt in her mouth.

She then realizes she's sitting on the cold hard ground.

"What the fuck?" She stands and tries to remember how she got here. She looks and sees some kind of doorway? It looks like it's been welded shut from the other side. There's also the fact that her entire body is sore, not just her head. Her head just hurts the worst. Her arms and her legs have the second most ache however, they haven't hurt this much since the first time she tried using a dynamo roller.

She looks down at the ground by her feet and horror fills her soul. There, sitting on the ground, are the remains of the Hypnoshades. They're just intact enough for her to tell exactly what they are, however they're also broken enough to no longer be usable. She can tell they aren't her knockoffs as the electrical components can still be seen within them. But that can't be right, she thought they'd been destroyed long ago! The only thing she had were replicas that didn't have any of the actual tech in them… or at least, that's what she thought.

"Oh no, oh no no no what did I do?!" Callie tries to find her phone, rummaging through her pockets and naturally, she doesn't have it. Just perfect, she has no idea what happened and given that she's on her own in the middle of nowhere, it can't be anything good. She thought she was safe from the shades finally, how could this happen to her? What had she been made to do while she was unable to control her mind and body?

Callie scoops up the remains of the hypnoshades and puts them into her pocket, she has to make sure everyone knows _why_ she did what she did, because she knows it can't be good. She then realizes that she's dressed in all black. Her shoes are black with black laces, her pants are black yoga pants, her jacket is black with a black hood. And every single piece of gear had run speed up on it, as though whatever she did with those hypnoshades on required a lot of speed. Main ability _and_ sub ability slots all had it, it seems a bit overkill…

Fortunately for Callie, Inkopolis Square wasn't far from where she was. She could see the tower from where she was, and the central tower of Inkopolis Plaza not far away either. She made her way there sorrowfully but quickly, she hoped to whatever gods may exist that she hadn't done something to hurt her friends. She was hoping with all of her hearts that she hadn't done anything to hurt Marie, she'd been through enough as it is.

After the most agonizing walk she's ever taken, Callie arrives in Inkopolis Square. It's emptier than usual, but there's still a handful of squids walking around. It seems like the clothing and weapon shops are closed, Callie thought that was odd but she figured maybe all the shop owners had agreed to go get coffee together or something like that. Notably however, Off the Hook are not in their studio like they usually are. That was the telling sign that something was _WRONG_. Reluctantly Callie makes her way towards the entrance to Octo Canyon. Her outfit may have been used for ill, but at least it keeps her from being noticed.

Callie glances around as she arrives at the grate that will take her to Octo Canyon, making sure no prying eyes are watching her. Once she's sure it's safe to do so, she jumps through the grate.

Arriving on the other side, she's greeted by the one thing she feared. Marie. But it seemed like everyone else was there as well. Eight, Four, Pearl, Marina, Cap'n... wait, where's Three?

At this moment Callie realized that Eight was in a state of distress, Pearl and Marina had their hands on her shoulders and were trying to console her as she cried. It seemed that Eight was holding something small in her hands as she let her tears flow freely, Callie couldn't help but wonder what it was, but she also knew that now was not the time to ask. Cap'n was making sure Octavio was keeping out of Trouble... and Marie was looking right at her.

"What did you do?" Marie's words were cold. She knew the answer already, and seeing Eight's condition confirmed to Callie what had happened. Callie fell to her knees, tears welling in her own eyes now. How could she have let this happen?

"I-I didn't... I'm so sorry..." Callie buried her face into her hands and sobbed, she didn't know what else to do. No words, no actions, no nothing could ever make up for what she had done. Even if she had no control of her actions, it was still HER that did… whatever it was that resulted in Eight crying and Three being nowhere to be found.

"I told you to smash them." Octavios deep voice rang in Callie's head, and seemed to echo through the clearing in Octo Canyon where they all resided. "Now someone else has used her. Don't blame her for this."

Marie shot Octavio the coldest glare possible, the air growing chill as fire sparked in Marie's eyes.

"Don't blame her? You're right, it ISN'T her fault." She walks closer to Octavio's snowglobe. "It's YOURS! If you hadn't put those FUCKING SHADES on her in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess! And for your information, we DID shatter those shades!"

"Marie, please..." Cap'n tries to reason with Marie but any and all chances of that are long gone now. He sighs as he just sees his granddaughter become increasingly furious with the Octopus currently held within a snow globe.

"No, I will not be pacified. It is HIS FAULT Three is gone! He's the reason Eight is distressed! He's the reason our friend is GONE!" Tears well in Marie's eyes, everything she had been trying to keep in was now coming out. "Don't tell me to calm down, Three is gone. I can't let her memory be tainted!"

Callie, wiping her own tears and getting back to her feet, makes her way over to Marie and just pulls her into a hug. Marie quickly hugs back and the two of them sob into each other as they try and reconcile their emotions. Marie not wanting to be angry, but rather just wanting her friend back. Callie feeling horrible about how she was used to cause all of this.

"I am so so sorry Marie." Callie chokes out through sobs, not wanting to let go of her cousin for fear that she might simply disappear if her arms were to ever let her go. She couldn't bear the thought of losing anyone else, especially not Marie.

Octavio, not being one for tactfulness, awkwardly clears his throat, gaining the attention of the pair, as well as everyone else in the area. Craig seemed a little perturbed by his lack of tact but opted not to say anything. Everyone was looking at Octavio expectantly, hoping he had some kind of vital information to share that he was merely waiting for Callie to be present for to share.

"Okay as disgusting as that display of emotion was, I can't stand by and watch you beat yourselves up over nothing." Octavio's expression becomes one of determination. "Why are you so quick to assume there's no saving Three? There's got to be something that could be done to find her and save her."

Marina perks up, making her way over to the group but not before giving Eight a full proper hug. She has a depressed look on her face but she knows she has to share this information, especially now that Callie is here, so that they can all be on the same page as to what the situation truly is.

"When Eight came to us with the news, Pearl and I tried figuring out where Three could've gone off to. We tried tracing her phone but its signal cut off before we could find her." Marina explains, pulling out her laptop and scrolling through the various commands she had entered trying to find Three. "We simply don't know where to look now."

Octavio simply rolled his eyes.

"You're missing the obvious here." It takes everything in him not to call literally all of them dense motherfuckers. "Who else knows how to connect to and control those hypnoshades? Who else utilized an army of brainwashed octarians and octolings? Who else do you all wish didn't exist that isn't me?"

There was a long pause of silence as everyone dared not match anyone else's gaze. They all knew what Octavio was talking about, they all knew he was right, and somehow all that did was make them feel even worse. But, before Octavio could get another word in, Eight rises from the seat she'd been using and comes back into the main group.

"Kamabo." Eight's voice rang, there was a level of knowing within it, like there was no doubt in her mind whatsoever that what she was stating is pure fact. She has a nervous look about her as she finishes her statement. "Three is... back in Kamabo."

That left a sense of dread in everyone's mind. They knew what Kamabo was capable of, and they were none too keen about going back in. They'd even stopped their experimentation on the sludge that comes out of there because they'd assumed it had become dormant and it would eventually consume itself. But if Three was captured, that meant they had little to no time.

"Well there you go then, figure out where in Kamabo she is, and you can save her." Octavio crosses his tentacles in front of him, like he'd just dropped a microphone on stage or something. Everyone around him pays him no mind as they begin trying to figure out how to get into Kamabo.

"Wait. When I woke up I was next to some kind of doorway, but it looked like it had been welded shut from the inside! Maybe she's down that way!" Callie exclaimed, her soul pleading that her friend would turn out to be okay after all.

"Okay we're heading there now. Eight, are you up to come or-" Pearl is cut off by Eight already standing and strapping an ink tank to her back, and clipping an Octo Shot to her belt ready to jump in with no second thoughts.

"I am going to get my Three back and none of you had better stand in my way." Eight's sorrow had been nearly immediately replaced by rage. Kamabo was supposed to be behind them. Now here she was diving right back in. She pockets the small box she'd been holding and Callie realizes what it was in that moment, which only served to make her feel MORE guilty. Eight wasn't going to lose Three, not now, not ever.

No one dared argue with Eight. Cap'n agreed to stay behind and stay with Octavio. He'd still be in radio contact should they need him. Callie handed Marie the shattered remains of the Hypnoshades on their way out of Octo Canyon, making sure she knew this would never happen again. Four, though she wanted nothing more than to save her cousin, also agreed to stay with the two older cephalopods, figuring this was Eight's mission. Four did however make sure to say she'd be there in a heartbeat if she was needed.

After a short journey, they all arrive at the location where Callie said she awoke. Sure enough, there was a faded Kamabo logo on the door that was definitely welded shut from the inside. Marina, always being prepared, simply walked up to the doorframe, pulled some kind of putty out of her bag, and stuck it to the door along the hinges. Pearl seemed a little TOO excited about what Marina was doing and that caused everyone to take a quick step back.

"You might want to stand back a little." Everyone backs off a little more and Marina pulls a small remote out of her bag and hits the button, causing the door to fly off its hinges directly into the now open pathway to Kamabo. Which also happened to create a very loud boom noise.

Eight stood at the entrance, her ink tank full and her OctoShot in her hands. The loud explosion having done nothing to waver her determination. She grips her weapon tighter and readies herself to enter. But then she feels a hand on her shoulder, signalling her to wait.

"Hold on, we need to know where Three is before you go in." Marina pulls out her laptop again, now that the way is open she's able to get a low level access to Kamabo. She's tacking commands into her laptop as fast as her fingers will let her. She's growing more frustrated as every second passes. "FUCK! I can't access their security system! If I could just look at their cameras I could find out where Three is!" Marina hisses, trying to keep a cool head but failing miserably.

"Wait, Marina, what about the employee model CQ-80 Three stole, don't we still have access to that?" Pearl interjects, trying to add hope to the situation.

"YOU'RE RIGHT!" Marina calls "But where is it?!"

"Here." Eight unclips it from her belt and tosses it to Marina. "I snagged it before I came to see you two, something told me I should."

Marina nods, and then hooks the CQ-80 into her laptop and again begins tacking away commands. This time, the CQ-80 brings up a plethora of displays as Marina tries to access the inner workings of Kamabo. Security cameras, troop movements, whole entire documents about how sanitization worked. All on display.

Marina keeps typing and the screens start to disappear. More security feeds pop up, seemingly archived as Marina tries to find the path they used to take Three through Kamabo so she can construct a map. Marina glances often between the holographic displays and the screen of her laptop, making sure the information she's getting and the commands she's entering are all correct.

After a few minutes of typing, the only screen that remains on the CQ-80, is an internal schematic of Kamabo, with a highlighted line indicating the path Eight would have to take to find Three. Marina finally unplugs the device from her computer and tosses it back to Eight, who opens the map and studies it.

"Okay, Callie, Marie, I know this might be a tall order, but I think you know what we need you to do if Eight is going to succeed." Marina says to the pair of inkling cousins standing across from her.

The Squid Sisters glance at each other and nod. They know what has to be done, and they're willing to do anything to help Eight rescue Three.

"Pearl, it's unlikely but be prepared for the same outcome as last time, I don't want to leave any possibility for failure." Marina turns to Pearl. "Oh and also, get them a stage of some kind. It works best if it's a full performance."

"What works best?" Pearl is visibly confused, not fully understanding what Marina is talking about.

"The Calamari Inkantation." Callie states, taking a moment to compose herself and prepare. "It breaks mind control, as well as provides a literal boost to the person it's being sung for."

"To be fair, we didn't know about the breaking mind control part until AFTER we used it on Octavio the first time." Marie chimes, also preparing herself for the performance of her life.

"Alright I'm not going to pretend to understand how a song can do that, but if it'll help Eight I'll do anything I can." Pearl whips out her phone and sends a couple messages quickly. "Heh, last time we got to use the choppers was when Eight got out of there, and now we're using them again as she heads back in."

Marina shakes her head and places her hand on Eight's shoulder. Eight is shaking, she's frustrated, mad, she's on the verge of breaking down and crying but she's also on the verge of ripping someone's throat out.

"Are you ready? She's down there, all you have to do is get her out." Marina's voice calms and focuses Eight's mind.

Eight takes in a deep breath and slowly she funnels all of her emotions into fuelling one thing, her determination. Eight tightens her fingers around the grip of her Octo Shot and nods.

"I'm ready." are the only words she speaks.

The wind picks up slightly and looking overhead they spot a chopper coming down with a small platform, a makeshift stage for Callie and Marie to perform on. Complete with microphones and some speakers.

Workers ride the stage down, and unhook it from the chopper once it's made contact with the ground before being whisked back up into the chopper by the cords being retracted. Callie and Marie take their places on the stage, nodding to each other to signal they're both ready.

"Okay, I'm going to hook you into Kamabo's PA system so your song can be heard through the entire facility, maybe it'll help Three out too." Marina types more commands into her laptop, still wirelessly hooked into the CQ-80 after she forced the connection with the physical wire.

Eight positions herself to jump into the doorway, Callie and Marie are primed and ready to start their song, and Marina has everything hooked in so they can track Eight as she makes her way towards Three.

"Okay, we're ready." Pearl states, noticing everyone in position. "Go get her Eight, she's waiting for you."

Eight's brow furrows and her knees bend before she leaps forward quickly and disappears into the doorway as the beat starts for Callie and Marie's performance.


	27. 6-4 Kamabo strikes back

Three was not having a good day. Okay that was probably the biggest possible understatement in the history of understatements. Her entire body was sore and weak, she had ink leaking from various parts of her body, and she just all around felt pain everywhere. Her brain was foggy at best and her muscles all just ached with unimaginable pain. Oh there's also the fact that she's currently being dragged towards a sanitization chamber that will rob her of her free will and turn her into a mindless zombie, one that will likely be used to get to anyone and everyone Three has ever personally cared about.

Three doesn't really like this outcome, but she's got no strength to fight back. Her entire body is aching and her mind is remarkably unfocused, she can't even try to wrench her wrists free from the grip of the sanitized Octolings that are dragging her to her ultimate demise. She bows her head in shame, she never thought this would be the way she went out, especially because she thought she'd finally found her eternal happiness with Eight… Three wished so desperately that she at least had the chance to say goodbye.

Three barely registers the sound of the speakers in the room activating, they start playing a beat she's somewhat familiar with but between her weakened state and the melody being just different enough from what she's familiar with, she doesn't truly figure out what song is playing, she doesn't think it matters really. But then, the vocals start, the song becomes clear to her beyond a shadow of a doubt, and the words course through her body in a way no other lyrics ever could.

"_Ya weni marei mirekyarahire Juri yu mirekerason"_

Three feels the pain from her wounds lessen, and the fog that clouds her mind lifts. She wrenches her wrists free from the Octolings that hold them, turning on her back quickly and using both of her legs to kick them in their chests causing them to fall backwards. They land on their backs and their Hypnoshades clatter off of their faces and… oh, that's why they still need them. The Octolings look at each other with horror, they can see what they've become and the look on their face says that they hate it. They grab their heads and scream in pain before suddenly dissolving into puddles of sludge.

"Okay that's gross" Three says as she stands, the Inkantation coursing through her entire being. She feels some of her strength return to her and she turns to face the door, still locked, but it's where she has to go. Surely she won't be allowed to just waltz out, whether she gets through that door herself or not, there's bound to be plenty of resistance between her and the surface. She wonders if she'll be able to get through the door and make it home to her lover, or if she'll end up trapped down here until her final moments.

Three realizes quickly that the Inkantation isn't going to sustain her forever however, so she limps towards the table that she was previously strapped to. Her arm clutches her stomach and tries to slow the bleeding, it's by far the worst wound and she wonders if it'll get treated in time before she dies of ink loss. She can't focus on what might happen though, her survival depends on her keeping her attention here and now where it belongs.

She makes it to the table and finds the small cart beside it, there were a lot more tools and objects on it that Tartar could've used but he opted not to. Likely because he got carried away with the ones he _was_ using, and he still wanted enough of Three to use as a puppet for his evil deeds. She didn't even want to think about why there was a _spoon_ of all things on the cart. She glances to the restraints that held her wrists and the glowing ink that now drips from them, too much more of that in her system and she'd become nothing but a husk of her former self. Fortunately it seems that she's not going to experience that.

Three hears the door open and she looks over to see two more Sanitized Octolings entering, she remembers what happened with the ones that were dragging her towards the sanitization chamber but… that felt cruel. They should at least go out in the least painful way possible, and with their hypnotized and brainwashed state, they likely wouldn't feel much in the way of _physical_ pain. Three reluctantly sighs and grabs a knife off the cart, she's not proud of herself for having to do this. Her left arm clutches her stomach while her right hand holds the knife in a reverse grip. The Octolings approach, they're unarmed and are only going to attempt to subdue Three. Three bows her head in shame over what she's about to do.

"I'm sorry it's come to this." She sighs heavily as the Octolings attempt to grab Three, but with the Inkantation flowing through her, she manages to channel it into her movements. She swiftly brings the knife down into the shoulder of one of the Octolings, causing them to collapse on the ground, writhe into a ball, and then dissolve into a puddle of ink. "Okay that's just gross… again."

She doesn't get much time to observe the remains however, as the other Octoling is now on the attack. She pounces on Three to attempt to tackle her to the ground but Three dodges to the side swiftly, the knife slicing across the Octoling's chest in the same swift motion, and in a moment, they too are a puddle on the ground.

Three then falls to her knees herself, despite the Inkantation, she's worn out due to ink loss and stress. Her body is barely holding together as it is. She prays that somehow, some way, she's going to make it out of this… She doesn't want to go out before she gets the chance to actually ask Eight the only question that matters between them now, one she hopes the answer to is yes. Three feels her consciousness fading, she imagines the scene of her and Eight together standing at the altar. Would one of them be in a dress? Would they both be in a dress? Suits? Who would officiate? Probably Cap'n Cuttlefish, he seems like he'd do it.

Three hears the door opening once again, she looks over and once again a Sanitized Octoling enters the room. Except something is different, their tentacles seem more… unique. They almost seem to have a… personality to them. They also are far taller than any other Octoling Three has met, towering much higher than even Eight. The Octoling looks down at Three, and then kneels down to be eye level with her. Three doesn't know why, but she feels safe in this moment, as though this Octoling somehow won't hurt her, despite everything about their appearance screaming otherwise to her mind.

"Salutations, Agent Three of the Squidbeak Splatoon." The voice of the Octoling sounds somewhat robotic, and yet distinctly female in tone. The Octoling then does something she's never seen a sanitized Octoling do. She smiles a genuine smile.

"W-Who…" Three coughs, struggling to keep herself conscious, and struggling to remain in the moment.

"My designation is Test Subject 8,888, however I personally identify as Dedf1sh." The Octoling removes the Hypnoshades from their face and tosses them across the room, the Inkantation likely fried them. Three looks into their eyes and is surprised to see that they're like a normal Octoling's. The sclera are white and there's a distinct life within them. "I was the first test subject to resist the sanitization process, and now that my hypnotization has been broken, my free will has been restored."

"Wh-why are you.. Here.." Three's vision is blurring and she can tell she's not going to be remaining awake for very long, but she has to know why this Octoling seems so interested in her. Three already has a girlfriend! One she has every intention of returning to and spending the rest of her life with, ideally anyways. Three manages to focus her mind enough to hear Dedf1sh's reply to her question, fighting the ache of her body to listen to what the Octoling will say.

"You faced off against Octavio, and during the proceedings of the battle, the Squid Sisters performed the song known as the Calamari Inkantation. This song broke Octavio's hold on my mind." Dedf1sh states, it sounds like she's reading information off of a card rather than recounting lived events, but then she's also partially sanitized so that could be responsible for the odd speech patterns. "I fell to Kamabo by accident, and Tartar took advantage of my naivety. However the Inkantation has once again broken the hold on my mind. I would like to repay my saviors who have now unwittingly freed me twice."

"S-Surface… you want… the surface…" Three manages to put together the pieces of what Dedf1sh wants, and frankly deserves as well. Three hopes that this situation ends in such a way that the both of them can make it there safely. Three simply smiles before having to take a moment to wince from pain, she's still bleeding out at this moment and needs medical attention as soon as possible. Hopefully rescue will come for her, there's no way the song started playing by accident.

"I do not wish merely for the surface, I wish to show gratitude, and it begins with protecting a damaged Inkling who deserves a better fate." Dedf1sh grabs the knife from Three's hand and turns to stand between her and the door. She takes in a deep breath and lets the Inkantation flow through her, and Three sees a new level of determination enter the Octoling. Her skin seems to have small patches of unsanitized area, which reveal a pale but freckled skin that likely covered her entire body in the past. Three has to blink in surprise because she could swear she sees the unsanitized area growing.

The door again opens, a squad of five Octolings enter and scan the room. Dedf1sh screams and charges at them, knife in hand. Before they can react at all, she's managed to dispatch two of them with quick slices across their necks. A third one falls quickly as she sweeps their feet out from under them and brings the knife into their chest. The two remaining Octolings attempt to grab her but she ducks to the side and jabs the knife into both of their sides. She's not proud of herself, but she's protecting Agent Three. These Octolings don't even have the same level of self identity that Dedf1sh has, they barely have any form of identity within them at all. They're barely more than robotic drones with the sanitization and the hypnoshades on their faces.

There then comes a commotion from outside the door, it sounds like a fight has broken loose outside of the room they're currently in. Dedf1sh remains ready, though she is somewhat confused as to why there seems to be a battle going on outside of the room she and Three presently occupy. Loud metallic banging can be heard and the sound of someone grunting and dodging attacks as well. Dedf1sh is trembling visibly, she has no idea what's going to come through that door, but she remains between it and Agent Three, the knife at the ready.

Suddenly the sound of something large and metallic collapsing on the ground can be heard, followed by some indecipherable speaking. What happens next is very unexpected. The door doesn't unlock like it normally does, but rather, something is audibly stuck to the door, and after some muffled beeping, a loud _BANG_ can be heard, and the door falls over off of its hinges, and then standing on the other side of it was the one Octoling that Dedf1sh hoped to see the most, **10,008**.


	28. 6-5 Enter the dungeon

Eight charged forward with a level of determination she's not had in years. The last time she had this level of determination she was fighting her way OUT of Kamabo to make it to the surface. But arguably she had an even bigger reason to be determined now. It wasn't just her own freedom at stake anymore, it was Three's LIFE.

Eight thankfully wasn't attempting this alone, she had Pearl and Marina guiding her much like last time she was going through Kamabo, though this time Marina had a much more detailed map of where she needed to go. As well as Callie and Marie performing the Inkantation as well to help Eight remain focused.

It wasn't long before Eight encountered the first bit of resistance. A team of Octoling foot soldiers were set between her and the first door she needed to get through. Back in her rebel days, she would fight and defeat Octolings because she had no choice, but here? These Octolings were _perverted_ by Sanitization… defeating them was a mercy. However in her current state, Eight didn't feel very merciful, she felt rage.

She screams and charges right at the group, dodging a blast of ink and grabbing the one who fired it by the shirt and shamelessly slamming them into the others with them to keep them from firing on her, and without hesitation she raises her octoshot and finishes the job.

This is the second time Kamabo has tried to take everything from her, she's not going to let them get away with it. She charges forwards through the first door and it wooshes shut behind her. Eight takes a moment to examine her surroundings, she's on a narrow platform with a straight line directly to the next door, but on either side of her is a ledge with no railing and a drop directly into water, no room for error. She then hears a familiar beep, that of an Octo Sniper locking on to her position and she dodges to the side as the sanitized ink flies right through where she was standing previously and splattering against the door she just came through.

"They're too far away for you to hit with your weapon, you'll have to move fast!" Marina's voice calls through her headset. Eight takes one look at where the shot was fired from and sees that it's not the only one targeting her, she's going to have to book it for the next door, no sense trying to fight them.

Eight takes a quick breath and starts running for her life. She hears herself being locked on to again, and when the next blast of ink is fired she ducks her head and it whizzes harmlessly past her. Unfortunately the next shot is fired much sooner than she had anticipated and she's hit by it right in the chest. She falls backwards, fires a couple shots from her Octoshot, and dives into the ink to recover. She had forgotten just how much it _stings_ to get hit by the sanitized ink of Kamabo. Her body however is quick to repel the damage thanks to being submerged in her ink, and she then leaps out of it quickly, sprinting for the door. She figures if she moves fast enough they won't be able to get a lock on her, but unfortunately this requires far more effort than she had anticipated.

She quickly makes it through the next door, a blast of ink flies through the opening and into the room she's now in before she slams a button on the control panel and it too comes closed quickly. Once she catches her breath she takes a look at the room she now occupies, for one it's far less dangerous than the last one, which Eight thinks is a nice thing. It seems to be filled with just scrap metal, perhaps this is where those Octo Weapons she destroyed while going through the tests in the Metro wound up. All the metal plates look dented and shredded so it's entirely possible. It could also be part of a recycling project to take old metal and turn it into something else. Eight really doesn't care much at all about that however.

Eight pulls out the CQ-80 she had with her, quickly navigating to the map that Marina had uploaded to it to find where Three was and… wait that can't be right…

"Marina I've got _two_ points of interest on my map here…" Eight says into her headset, confused at the two blinking dots on her map. One of them is actually not very far from her and would be damn near on the way to the other.

"What the… okay hold on I'm looking in to it" Marina's voice calls back, faint typing can be heard through the headset as EIght remains ready in case an ambush comes through one of the doors. "It seems that when the system detected that you had entered the facility, it automatically uploaded a point of interest to your map. I know we need to save Three but you should consider at least taking a look, it's only a tiny detour."

"Alright, moving forward then." Eight focuses again and closes her map, clipping the CQ-80 back to her belt. Surely there wouldn't be anything _too_ dangerous at the point marked on her map. Okay it's almost definitely a trap but she's heading that way anyways. She takes a deep breath and pushes onwards, she only has so long to save Three after all.

Eight punches her way through the next set of hallways. Literally. She doesn't even fire her weapon, she just runs in and any enemies are met with rage and aggression. Though most of the enemies seem to be Octolings that have been sanitized, that's why this strategy worked. If you tried punching an OctoTrooper in the face they'd just bite your hand off, their mouths are disturbingly large compared to their bodies. After tearing through her opponents and finding herself just one door away from the point marked on her map, Eight takes in a deep breath and pushes into the room.

What she finds is… not what she was expecting. It looked a lot like one of the old locker rooms from the Octarian Military Barracks. She even recognized that the numbering on each of the locker doors was distinctly Octarian. Naturally she was drawn to one locker specifically, the one that bore her number on the front of it. A giant Eight. She stepped closer to it and knelt down in front of it, she grabbed the combination lock in her hands and without even thinking, input the code and dropped the lock to the ground, leaving her free to access the contents of the locker.

Eight swings open the door, not sure what to expect. However she absolutely was not expecting what actually was contained within. There were her old hypnogoggles that became completely useless to Octavio after the Inkantation fried them. There was also her old Octoling chest armor, she knew it was hers because it had her name and rank laser etched into the side. "Kiaria Yuri Ida, First Unit Special Operations, Unit commander". Gods it had been so long since she had to think about her time in the Octarian Military that she was a little shocked to see her name, rank, and title, all staring her in the face. But there was something else in the locker as well, something behind her chest plate. Eight reaches in and pushes the plate aside and the golden object fills her vision. She reaches in and grabs it, studying it over.

"It's… a golden toothpick?" Eight says to herself as she looks over the object. It's golden, for one, and it looks like it's modeled to look like some kind of confectionary treat like a cake pop with a large toothpick through it. It honestly looks like something that might be used as a hair accessory… She's not sure what to make of it at the moment so she pockets it and continues towards where Three is on her map, she could figure out the mystery of the toothpick later.

She finds that between where she found the toothpick and where Three is supposedly being kept that there seems to be almost no forces. No Octolings trying to stall her, no OctoSnipers trying to take her out, no Octo Commanders trying to gun her down. And it honestly makes her incredibly uneasy. They're planning something, Eight can feel it. It's been almost three hundred meters without so much as the faintest hint of hostile activity. Eight doesn't like it, it feels like a trap. It's almost definitely a trap.

So yeah it was a trap.

Eight was hit over the back of her head just as she was about to breach the door to where Three is supposed to be. She can feel a little trickle of ink drip down her head but otherwise she feels fine, she's taken much harder blows during her time with the rebels so whomever hit her will have to try harder than that. Eight quickly regains her barings and turns to face her attacker. However instead of an Octoling like she had been expecting, her assailant turned out to be something entirely different. It seemed to be… an android of some kind? Eight wasn't too sure what she was looking at. That is, until it began to speak in a familiar voice that sent shivers down her back.

"Hello, 10,008." The unforgettable voice of Tartar rang through the android's body, like it was resonating from a speaker housed within the head but not quite soundproofed properly so it reverbs through the rest of it. "Come to save your pathetic little friend? I'm afraid you're too late, she's being processed as we speak."

Eight's eyes widen in horror, that can't be what's happening! Three wouldn't let them do that, she'd fight to her last breath! Especially if she thought there was even a chance that she'd hurt her friends if she didn't. Eight drops her weapon, she knows it won't do much against a non-cephalopod, and instead opts to try and rip the android's head off. She screams in rage and charges straight for him.

"LIAR!" Eight screams as tears stream down her face. Tartar attempts to dodge her but he fails miserably and she body slams his body into the wall. Immediately his systems flare up with errors, he had underestimated just how strong this one Octoling was. He recalibrates his systems quickly and pushes her off of him, taking a ready stance.

"Finally a worthy opponent! Our battle will be legendary!" Tartar laughs maniacally and throws a punch towards Eight. Eight, being focused and enraged, dodges the move and grabs his wrist, flipping him over her head and slamming him into the ground. More system errors. He had miscalculated his chances of winning this fight.

"GO TO HELL!" Eight grabs a disc off her belt, activates it, and while Tartar is down, she slams it into his chest. Tartar gets up and readies for another blow but Eight is now nowhere to be seen. Eight has ducked for cover behind the door she used to enter the room in the first place, and then the loud _POP_ of the device detonating can be heard. Eight walks back into the room and looks over the now charred remains of Tartar. She laughs softly, oh how the mighty have fallen. She kicks what remains of the head of the body lightly and smirks. "So uncivilized."

Finally she makes it to her destination, but the door is… locked. Well of course it is, why not? She grabs another disk off her belt and sticks it to the door, standing back a bit and covering her ears before once again the disc detonates with a loud confirming _POP._ Shortly after, the large metal door falls over off of what used to be its hinges. What Eight sees when she comes through the door is not entirely what she had hoped to find, however there were still a great number of worse alternatives.

Looking into the room Eight sees… what she assumes is a partially sanitized Octoling. She doesn't have the same black sclera that all the sanitized Octarians did, and she's also discarded her hypnoshades. The one unsettling thing was the fact that she held a knife. However the blade was coated in sanitized ink which meant she'd been fighting Tartar's forces. The Octoling seems to relax as soon as Eight enters the room, which Eight takes as a good thing. However Eight's eased expression is quickly replaced as she spots… a puddle of orange on the ground behind her.

"Th-THREE?!" Eight pushes past the Octoling who seems content not to interfere with anything Eight is doing, in fact she seems to still be watching the door. Eight takes a moment to assess Three's condition and, oh this is not good. Three's breathing is labored, she looks like she's lost almost half of her ink, and her right tentacle has been severed. "Oh Three… I-I'm so sorry…"

Three perks up slightly hearing Eight's voice, the Inkling weakly raises her hand and brushes away Eight's tears. Three is in immeasurable pain, however she can't stand to see her girlfriend cry. Actually speaking of Eight being her girlfriend, Three had something important to ask her that she had… originally wanted to be under better circumstances. But Three isn't sure if she'll make it now, she doesn't want to miss her chance.

"E-Eight.. I-I need to a-ask you something…" Three coughs slightly and a splatter of orange ink leaks from her mouth. Eight holds Three's body in her arms and looks down at her, stroking her face gently and trying to remain calm.

"What… What is it Three?" Eight knows that time is short but… something inside her is telling her that she has to let Three ask her question before she moves her. Some part of Eight is dying to know what her lover would think is so important that it has to be asked now of all times.

"Eight… m-my love… my sunshine… my world… w-will you… m-marry me?" Three smiles a weak smile before coughing again, she's still wearing the same shirt she was on their last date… which was three days ago. Only it was stained with dried ink and would likely have to be replaced… assuming the owner was still around to replace it.

"Oh Three…" Eight smiles and small happy tears prick her eyes. She had assumed Three was planning to ask this question, she'd been acting differently lately and she could tell that Three was so much more nervous than usual. But to actually hear the Inkling say those words? Nothing could ever have prepared Eight for it. "Yes, of course I will!"

"Good… I'm glad…" Three's voice trails off as she loses strength and passes out. Eight quickly scoops Three up into her arms and checks her hearts and her breathing. They're all faint, but still working. Eight knows time is important so she turns back towards the door and runs out the same way she came in, adrenaline and love now fueling her body.

"We're coming out!" Eight calls into her headset as she sprints as fast as she can with Three unconscious in her arms. She presses a kiss to Three's head and hopes she is fast enough. She has to be fast enough. She's so close she can taste it, Three is going to make it. Eight wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't. Eight looks down at Three briefly and she hates how she can see just how much she had to go through, she's liable to have nightmares about this event for a long time, so Eight does one thing she hopes will help Three _not_ have a nightmare right now. "Don't worry, my love. It's over now, it's over."


	29. 7-1 The Aftermath

"We're coming out" Eight's voice called through the communicator. Everyone breathed a visible sigh of relief. Marina tacked a few commands into her laptop to make sure the path remained open as Eight and Three made their way out. Marina had found a way to deal with the pesky Octo Snipers that had pinned Eight down briefly earlier, allowing Eight a much safer path out than she had going in. Eight noticed that the Octoling that was in the room with Three was following them out, however she seemed docile, at least for now, so she wouldn't focus too much on her, just on getting Three to safety.

Callie and Marie stopped singing, their voices worn and throats sore from keeping Eight egged on for so long. But it was worth it. Both Eight and Three were their friends, and they'd do anything for them. They came down from the makeshift stage Pearl had set up for them to properly perform the Calamari Inkantation, and made their way over to the rest of the group.

"Okay I'm tracking Eight, she should be out in just a moment." Marina called out to everyone. They all gather near the entrance that Eight had gone through not too long ago, Marie looking to be the most relieved out of everyone.

"Thank gods they're okay. Callie, we need to do something for Three. She's gone through entirely too much." Marie says to her cousin, trying not to let on that she was worrying like a mom does and failing miserably. Marie was the one that was always the most concerned about anyone and everyone that was on a mission, and she was just as concerned about Eight as she was about Three, but the level of concern for Three was compounded by the fact that she'd been down there so much longer.

"Yeah I agree, maybe once she's fully back on her feet we could like, take her and Eight out on a real fancy evening… one which doesn't end with them nearly being killed ya know?" Callie chuckles, their lives put them in far too many life or death scenarios and it would probably be really nice for Three and Eight to get a proper break. Plus, they needed to give them a proper night out together, not like the last time… which ended in them being assaulted in a nightclub.

"Yeah, agent work is difficult and they've both earned a real big break even without this" Marie chuckles, knowing full well that Callie was trying to ease her nerves. It worked to a degree, but Marie still worried about Three. She'd been down there god knows how long. At least she knew for a fact that Eight was still okay, since it was HER voice that called through and told them that they were on their way out.

They heard footsteps echo from within Kamabo, but they were slow and pained. Everyone's eyes fixate on the opening, and soon a figure begins to emerge from the hole they created to enter the facility. They now see just why those steps were so pained. Everyone's pupils shrink as they watch in disbelief as Eight, fighting back tears, carries the nearly lifeless body of Three out of the darkness. Eight's face is stoic but her eyes and lip quiver slightly as she carries Three into the light.

Three's body is in horrible shape, her right tentacle was cut off, and at the base of where it had been looked burned and scarred, meaning it wasn't coming back. Her body looked significantly thinner. The scar on her face was practically glowing. And if you looked closely at her wrists, you could see similar scars to the one on her face lined them. There was orange ink still dripping from her thigh and stomach. The only good thing about Three's condition was that she was still breathing. Three was tough as nails and wouldn't stop fighting, even if her body had to be the one to put up the fight for her.

Without hesitation upon seeing Three's condition, Pearl immediately got on her phone and called for a helicopter to pick them up, but insisted that only Eight and Three get on it. Pearl already knew Three needed to get to the hospital fast if she wanted to have any chance of survival, and if less weight saved two seconds, that was worth it. If not having to wait for all of them to get on board saved two seconds, it was worth it. Because two seconds might be the difference between life and death.

Just before stepping on to the helicopter, Eight pauses, and looks over at Marina. Marina can see the murder in Eight's eyes and Eight speaks a simple request with so much venom it could poison everyone in Inkopolis.

"Blow it to hell." Eight turns and boards the helicopter and it speeds off towards the hospital to hopefully save Three.

Marina brings up her laptop again, and begins typing commands into it. If this one act could bring Eight some solace, then she was doing it. Alarm bells begin blaring within Kamabo, and they echo from the opening they had made. Off in the distance the ocean begins to whirlpool as hatches and doors and anything Marina could open were opening to the ocean above. Then, to seal the fate of Kamabo, she hacked into their defense system, and detonated the warheads that lie beneath, turning the entire compound into nothing more than a distant memory. The water floods in and slowly but surely Kamabo is filled with the salty water, causing any and all beings still inside to meet their final fate. For most, it was a mercy. For the sanitized, it was peace.

Marina closes her laptop and puts it away, getting ready to start heading out, when another figure starts walking out of the opening. Everyone is on edge and ready to fight but… they seem harmless enough. The figure is an Octoling by the looks of it, patches of their skin were the sanitized teal, but the rest was freckle covered and just a few shades lighter than Marina's skin tone. The Octoling looks up at the sky and smiles, before taking in a deep breath and letting it out. Everyone is still a little uneasy, that is, until the Octoling just walks over to a patch of grass and sits down. Callie decides to go over and talk to them, whereas Marie is on the phone to contact Jay, she needs to know what's happening with her cousin. Pearl walks closer to Marina and places her hand on Marina's shoulder, smiling up at her.

"Three's going to be okay, and now they can't hurt either of them anymore." Pearl squeezes Marina's shoulder, choking back a sob, she'd been so worried about both of them. Eight was like a daughter to the both of them, even though she was a literal sister to Marina, and Three was already like family as well. Pearl is just glad that her family is at least somewhat okay, Three and Eight were absolutely getting some kind of treat as a result of this, be it a big vacation to somewhere exotic, or maybe they'd just buy them a house since they knew Three had been looking for one on occasion.

Marina smiles back, putting her arm around Pearl in response before leaning down and kissing her forehead. They both knew that this was going to be a strange time for everyone involved, between Eight and Three having their worst fears realized, to Marina and Pearl watching Eight march into uncertainty and danger and knowing she has to. It was always painful when she had to take a risk like this, but they'd never watched her cross the threshold between safety and mortal peril so directly before.

"We should go home, we can check up on Eight and Three at the hospital tomorrow." Marina pauses, she knows everyone there wants to go now, including her, but she also knows that what they both need right now is space. When Three wakes the first thing she should see is her lover. She will see her friends shortly thereafter, but she should see Eight first. "We need to let them get Three stable, she's got Eight, she'll be fine. I know she will."

Everyone glanced over to the distant chopper speeding towards Inkopolis general hospital, and prayed that Marina was right. Reluctantly they gathered their things and headed home. Three had to be okay, she was Three, she could handle anything, right?

* * *

Eight lays Three down on the floor of the chopper as it flies them to the nearest hospital. She wanted nothing more than to continue holding her in her arms, but they were tired and she would rather set her down gently than accidentally drop her. The pilot made sure the hospital knew that there was an emergency delivery coming to their roof. Eight, not having the strength to continue holding Three in her arms, opts to just hold Three's hand in her own.

"Hang on Three, I know you can make it." Eight squeezes Three's hand gently, she doesn't fully believe the words coming out of her mouth, but dammit if she isn't going to try anyways. She can't lose her. She WON'T lose her.

As soon as they arrive, there are nurses waiting with a stretcher to take Three inside. Upon seeing her condition, they all share a collective worried look which does nothing to ease Eight's aching heart. She hands Three over to them as they load her onto the stretcher and rush her inside. Eight thanks the pilot of the helicopter before they take off and heads away from the hospital to keep the landing pad clear.

Eight is instructed to wait in the waiting room. Something she's none too keen about, but she understands. The next hour may as well have been a decade. Every second Eight kept worrying. She prayed to whatever gods may exist to please let Three be okay again. She'd been through too much already, she didn't deserve this too.

After the first hour passed, a Doctor entered the waiting room. Eight perked up immediately but didn't rise from her chair, not yet. There were still a handful of other people in the waiting room and he could be here to call on any of them… but she is genuinely hoping he's here to tell her that Three is going to be okay… she just needs good news, something, anything.

"Kiaria Ida?" He called. Eight stands up and walks over to him, taking a deep breath and putting on a brave face. She'd faced the horrors of Kamabo _twice_ now, she could handle whatever this Doctor was about to say to her. She stands not far from him, but not so close that she's invading his personal space. She smiles at him with a pained smile, her concerns finally getting the better of her.

"Yes that's me. Is Thr- I mean Alex going to be okay?" That name felt weird coming out of her mouth, but in this environment, it's what she had to use. She knew Three preferred to be called by her agent number, but these doctors wouldn't know that, and even if they did, there was a level of professionalism and interpersonality that came from using one's true name.

"She's stabilized for now, but she's lost a lot of ink. Her natural colour of Orange would've been a blessing a few years ago, but it's a curse now. Orange just isn't common anymore, turns out it's a recessive ink color, and to make matters worse, most Inklings can't hold orange for very long if it isn't their natural colour." The Doctor breathes a heavy sigh. "We need to find a compatible donor soon or she may not wake up."

Eight's hearts sank. No way this could happen. Not to Three. Not to her. It wasn't fair! Three had gone through so much bullshit and Eight couldn't accept that it would end here for her. There HAD to be something that could be done to help her.

"How do you know if someone is compatible?" Eight asked, wondering if she could help in any way to undo the damage. Thanks to some studying she had done, she'd come to find that Octoling and Inkling ink are practically identical, and as such if all they needed was orange, Eight could hold Orange as long as she wanted. She'd been on plenty of missions with Three where she'd had to shift to orange on the fly to keep from accidentally splatting her, and then she'd go on to spend the rest of the mission that way without even realizing until later when her body eventually shifted back to the navy blue that it seemed accustomed to now.

"It isn't an exact science as we'd like it to be, but orange is just a difficult color for a lot of Inklings to maintain. We could shift her own ink color to match what we have but she's lost too much, her body simply won't allow it to shift color until it's restored."

"So, they just have to… be the same color?" Tears well in Eight's eyes. Hope sparked in her mind, Three had a chance now. Eight knew what she had to do and she was beyond willing to do it. Anything for Three, especially after what she'd been through.

"Yes. Naturally orange inklings are just a rarity now." The doctor's voice is pained, like he's had to give this explanation one too many times before. "We either need someone who can hold Orange for a long time, or someone who was born orange."

Eight shifts her colour to orange without a second thought. Surprising the doctor in front of her. He hadn't ever seen someone be so prepared before. Eight was more than ready to sacrifice all she had to if it meant saving Three, she couldn't bear the thought of a world without her lover.

"Take my ink, I'm orange now and I don't even have to think about keeping it there." The welled tears start to flow down her face, she's going to do this. She is going to save Three. "Orange is second nature to me now, please just save her."

The doctor nods, the look on his face signifying that this is a very uncommon outcome. They take Eight into an exam room to run a few tests. They take samples to make sure it does in fact match Three's ink. They make sure she can hold the colour under pressure. They confirm that she can, in fact, hold her ink at orange almost like it was her natural colour. And that she's willing to do anything if it means helping Three.

They have Eight sit in a recliner next to Three, and they hook them together with a pump between them to keep the ink flowing from Eight to Three. A faint pumping noise can be heard, at first Eight feels a little lightheaded as the ink leaves her body, but she gets used to it quickly. She chances a glance over at Three, she can already see some colour returning to her face. Eight is finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Three is going to be okay.

Eight is given some food and some water to help her own body reproduce ink faster so she doesn't end up in the same spot as Three. She requests a book so she can read while she sits next to the girl she loves. They oblige and provide her with a copy of the book she's been meaning to read for ages. The only book Three even owned at home.

"Love and war" Eight chuckled to herself quietly. "You and I have seen plenty of war, I hope when this is over we can just focus on love."

Eight smiles over at Three, the monitors hooked into her occasionally flash a little light to indicate they're still working. Sometimes something will beep and a nurse will enter the room to check on both Three and Eight.

Eight speeds through the book, having nothing else to draw her attention makes her a fast reader. She realizes why it's Three's favourite book. The main character was a stoic general who always put the success of the mission first. But then between missions while they're away from the army, they meet a beautiful girl who is so soft and sweet and she totally changes the General's outlook. The General starts to value life more, and much to the joy of the girl, The General values her own life more as well. At the end of the book, when the war is over and The General can finally rest, the girl is waiting for them. They waited because they knew that when the war was over, the warriors needed someone to show them how to rest.

But what Eight found the most intriguing was the name of the General, it was only spoken once in the last chapter of the book, by the very girl they had fallen in love with. The girl spoke it with such softness and reverence, as though speaking it out loud was a proper sign that the war was well and truly over. The name the girl said when the title General was no longer needed, was Alex.


	30. 7-2 The Awakening

Three slowly regained consciousness, her head hurt like hell and she felt very hazy. Had she been drinking? How much did she have? She opens her eyes and the world around her slowly stops being blurry as she tries to adjust to the light. A grunt can be heard from her as her pupils slowly shrink to the correct size to not let far too much light into her eyes, finally after a few moments she can actually see again. She looks around her and sees all manner of machines she doesn't recognize, questioning why they're here or what their purpose is, but then after looking to her right, she spots something she does recognize and it calms her.

Eight was asleep on the recliner, her head against the backrest with a thin little pillow under it, and a very thin blanket over top of her. She looked mostly comfortable enough, though she seemed slightly more pale than usual. Three was going to question why Eight was in a recliner and why she seemed somewhat pale… but then noticed the subtle pumping noise. Three turns her head to look down to its source and noticed there was an ink pump between the two of them, with lines going towards both of them.

She followed the lines and realized they led under the blanket Eight was resting under, she then also noticed that Eight had shifted to Orange. Wait, why was Eight orange? She looked again at the pump and followed the other line and found it entering her own arm. Suddenly, every event that had transpired in the last 48 hours that she had been conscious for comes flooding back as she's reminded that her ink supply had been dramatically reduced to the point that she was about to be dragged into a sanitization chamber.

"No no!" Three's heart rate picks up quickly, she begins to sweat and her breathing becomes shallow. The monitors blare alarms as they detect her hearts beating too fast and her body not inhaling enough oxygen from her hyperventilating. The beeping of course only serves to stress her out more as now there are literal alarm bells blaring in conjunction with the figurative ones blaring in her mind.

Quickly nurses enter the room, their goal being to de-escalate the situation while still allowing Three to remain awake, her body can recover plenty while she's asleep, but her mind can only heal while she's awake. They have sedatives just in case she's _too_ hysterical, but they hope they don't have to use them. One of the nurses holds her hands up to show Three she's not going to hurt her, as she starts to talk to the Inkling and try and calm her.

"Alex, listen to me, you're okay, you're safe. Just breathe. Okay? Breathe." The nurse gives a reassuring smile, and Three reluctantly agrees, and finds her hearts start beating at a much more normal rate. The monitors stop beeping and Three is able to relax. She glances over to Eight and sees she's still asleep, a gentle rise and fall of her chest confirmed to Three that Eight was perfectly fine. Slowly Three manages to get her mind into the current moment, and away from the flashbacks. She reaches a hand up and toys with the stump that used to be her right tentacle, something she'd just have to live with now.

"Alex, you have some visitors who would like to see you, should I send them in or would you like more time to yourself?" The nurse asks, now that Three is awake she should at least know her friends are there to support her. Three perks up a little and nods gently, seeing her friends sounds like exactly what she needs right now.

"Y-Yes please… I want to see my friends…" Three smiles calmly, remembering that she's not alone and that there's people who love and support her. Something she wishes she'd understood when she originally returned from Kamabo, before she and Eight hit it off. She was so set on being a stick in the mud and she honestly doesn't even remember why. Right now she just wanted to see her friends, she wanted to have the support, she wanted to not feel alone.

The nurse smiles and leaves the room, presumably to tell Three's friends that she's open to seeing them. Three wonders just who would be there, would Jay be there? She hoped so, she missed her cousin. Especially right now. Three thinks back on what's happened since she realized Jay was in Inkopolis, and she realizes that she hasn't spent nearly enough time with her. Sure they both had a lot going on in their lives, but that's no reason to not spend time with family, especially family you care about. Three tells herself she's going to have to spend some proper time with Jay when she gets out of the hospital, she's just been reminded how quickly her life could end up being taken from her, so she wants to make sure to spend as much of it with the people she cares about as she can, she's sure Eight will understand the need to spend some time with family as well as with her.

Before too long, the door opens again and sure enough, there's Jay with an oversized balloon that says "get well soon!" on it, and a comforting smile on her face as well. Jay comes over and ties the balloon to Three's bedframe and leans in to give her cousin a hug. Three is just strong enough now to return the gesture, and the two share an embrace for a few minutes. Jay is overjoyed that Three is _alive_ but not thrilled about her condition, and Three is just happy to see her cousin again. Jay had looked at the stump of a tentacle on the side of Three's head with concern, but seeing as it was the only permanent reminder of what happened, Jay didn't want to draw too much attention to it.

Three lays back again, feeling the spots where her body had been stitched back together sting a little as her body slowly heals itself, stretching them out to hug Jay had caused discomfort but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle, it was nothing compared to what gave her those wounds in the first place. These were going to be some nasty scars that's for sure. She smiles at Jay and now just holds her hand, happy to have the familial support.

"Hey Alex, how're you holding up?" Jay asks with a concerned smile, noticing that her cousin looked far paler than she did the last time she saw her… and apparently she was previously in WORSE condition. Needless to say, she was very concerned about her cousin.

"Well… my body kinda feels like it's on fire… my muscles are sore and ache… I was stabbed a few times so those spots are especially pained… but I'm alive, I'm back on the surface… and most importantly, I know you and Eight are safe and okay… so I'm doing about as well as I can be given the circumstances" Three chuckles a little, which prompts a cough and a wince as her body is still in disrepair.

"Well… just try and take it easy okay? You were always the first one to run off in search of adventure when we were kids… maybe let someone else defy the odds and cheat death for a while" Jay smiles warmly and squeezes Three's hand. Three knows that her cousin is looking out for her, and she appreciates it.

"Of course… If I find out this is some kind of fever dream in my final moments of life I am going to be very upset" Three smirks prompting Jay to roll her eyes.

"You always were incapable of truly taking anything seriously." Jay laughs lightly, knowing that her cousin is, at least mentally, mostly okay after what happened.

Three just smiles and rests her head again, focusing on breathing for a moment. She clears her mind and just tries to focus on what's good right now, right this second. A trick her therapist taught her a while back. Just because she's suffered doesn't mean she has to only focus on it, she can allow herself to be happy and grateful for the good in her life without undermining the impact the truly SHIT experiences have on her. It just allows her to stay positive while she heals and deal with the damage when she's stronger.

"Jay… I'm… I'm sorry we haven't talked much. I know I've been busy with Eight and… I know you understand that, and I'm so grateful that you do. But I want to try and be a better cousin… Once I'm out of here, let's you and me have a girls night… like we did when we were kids" Three smiles, hoping to comfort her cousin somewhat. She knows this whole ordeal must be a lot for her to take in. She's probably the third most affected by what happened, and even then it could be argued she's the second. With Three obviously being the most affected, and Eight being the one who is affected around the same as Jay.

"I… I think I'd really like that Alex. You and I always were unstoppable, no wonder we both became agents. But, focus on healing for now, okay? You've got us, me and Eight, and don't forget Callie and Marie too! They're all ready to help, Marie really hopes you'll allow her to help more, she _wants_ to help you. She considers you a close friend." Jay takes hold of Three's hand again, the familial love showing through her actions more than it ever could through her words.

Three smiles and nods, agreeing that maybe she should think about getting better before she thinks about any big plans. Wait a second… why was Jay so specific about _Marie_. Why not anything about Callie? Maybe it had something to do with what she herself and Callie had been, but that was ages ago and this was now… no there's something else going on here. There was a certain way Jay would… lift… when talking about Marie. Ohhhhh there's something there.

"So uh… whatcha think about the Squid Sisters now that you finally have the chance to know who they are?" Three smirks a little, she's gonna get to the bottom of this. "You know you got really lucky getting to meet both of them the way you did, what was it like working with Marie?"

Jay's face instantly yellows a bit as her ink warms up her face, now she's just thinking about Marie. Three already knows that, at the very least, her cousin has a crush, and it's cute. Jay stammers for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts but failing miserably several times, causing her to become even MORE flustered.

"Uhh… M-Marie's nice… she makes a lot of puns so we get along quite well… and Callie, well, she's alright too. Callie has a bit more of a bubbly personality but Marie has more of a… well… she's like you in a way, kinda stoic but also has an amazing smile" Jay rests her chin in her hand as she starts thinking about Marie's smile.

"Gotcha." Three says with a big ole smirk on her face, knowing the exact feelings which Jay is having right now, since she herself had similar ones about Eight.

"What?" Jay turns to Three, confused.

"You, my dear cousin, have a crush on Marie!" Three giggles, she'd nuge Jay with her elbow but she's got some issues moving that arm right now on account of what happened to that shoulder, but the smirk is quite prominent.

Jay freezes, and then looks around the room a little before leaning down and whispering.

"Is it… that obvious?" Jay blushes, feeling a little sheepish.

"Mmm only to me, because I know you so well. If you'd seen me before Eight and I got together you'd have picked up on my pining probably even before _I_ did." Three chuckles before wincing and grabbing her stomach, she's maybe still a little weak.

"Heh… How did you um… manage to ask her out? Or did she ask YOU out?" Jay prys, scooting a little closer to hear the story.

"Oh I asked her out… but DAMN if it wasn't stressful. We were already really good friends and I didn't want to make things awkward by asking her out… but it turns out she had the same feelings for me!" Three smiles, fondly remembering the simpler days when her and Eight were just a couple of cephalopods pining after each other.

"Oh really? That's so lucky!" Jay smiles, she's genuinely happy things worked out for her cousin. But her mood quickly shifts. "But… there's no way Marie has feelings for ME too, that just… It's wishful thinking, I mean she's HER… and I'm just me."

"If she truly values you as a friend, which I know she does, regardless of if she had romantic feelings for you, she'd be willing to at least go on a few dates. Don't be afraid to ask her, hell, don't even think of her as 'Marie from the Squid Sisters'... think of her as "Marie my coworker" Three smiles, she knows Marie well enough to know that she'd never intentionally break someone's heart, at least not someone close to her like Jay is.

"R-Really? You sure?" Jay beams, feeling a lot more at ease.

"Absolutely. Now, I'm sure Eight will be awake soon and I need to thank her for saving my life, just go to Marie. Tell her 'You're beautiful' and then ask her if she'd like to go on a date, maybe have a place in mind and have done a little digging so you know when you can get reservations for." Three chuckles, thinking about all the times her and Eight struggled to find a place to eat for date night because they were just too buy enjoying each other's company to think about eating.

"I will! Oh thank you Alex, you're the best cousin… I hope you get feeling better soon, I never did take it well when you got hurt" Jay chuckles and gives her cousin one last long hug before heading out the door, waving goodbye and closing the door behind her, she wonders if there's any other visitors or if it's just going to be Jay.

Her question is answered very shortly as Pearl and Marina enter the room with concerned looks on their faces, both afraid for Three's wellbeing as well as Eight's. Marina has a cake in her hands and presumably it's to help get Three's blood sugar back to normal, meanwhile Pearl has the plates and utensils for said cake. Three smiles softly, maybe she'll make it through today without much issue after all.


	31. 7-3 M4rie

"Okay c'mon Jay you can DO this!" Jay had just arrived at home after visiting her cousin in the hospital, she'd gone there to show her support and to help Alex start feeling better with some positive reinforcement, and yet it feels like Alex helped HER more than she helped Alex. Maybe it was wrong that it was this way, maybe Jay should've done more for her cousin, but she's never been in this position before, she's not sure what else she could've done or said that might've proved useful to her older cousin. Though to be fair, Alex mainly needed rest right now while her body recovered from the literal physical trauma… gods she looked like she'd been through hell. It would probably be a while before she would even be able to start processing the mental effects of what happened to her.

Jay takes in a deep breath, then pulls up her phone and dials Marie's number. She was sure it would just go to voicemail, Marie was so busy between being an idol and working with the Splatoon that she almost never answered her phone, it was much more reliable to get ahold of her via text since she could respond to one of those quickly. But Jay felt that something like this needed to be done in a more personal way than just text, and she wasn't sure where Marie was, so she figures she'll just… wing it, and ask her on a date over the phone. But Jay was nervous, especially since she expected to be met with the recorded answering machine message Marie had. Jay had spent several minutes rehearsing what she'd say in the message, getting it committed to memory so it wouldn't be an awkward jumble of words in Marie's answering machine. But then, the unexpected happened, she picked up!

"Hello? Four- I mean… Jay?" Marie's voice called through the receiver, she sounded happy, excited almost, like she was hoping for Jay to call. Jay was shocked about Marie actually having picked up and had to take a moment to collect her thoughts. Jay panics a little and almost forgets to reply but after remembering why she called in the first place, she takes a deep breath and calms her mind, remembering her cousin's advice and deciding to open with the flirtatious pickup line.

"Hey Marie… uh… I'm beautiful, wanna go on a date?" Wait no that doesn't sound right… she can almost hear Alex facepalming in the distance. Jay is mortified, she must've just absolutely botched her chance! She's prepared for Marie to yell, to be upset with her, to just straight up hang up and never speak to her again. But then another unexpected thing happens, Marie just… giggles.

"I would've said 'cute' but I guess beautiful works too… and, I'd be honored Jay." Marie says, you could almost hear her smile through the phone, and maybe even a hint of blush too. These words seemed to just further dumbfound Jay, she hadn't expected this kind of response at all! Wait did Marie call her CUTE?! Jay would've replied with another attempt at flirting but she was too busy blushing intensely and being completely awestruck at how Marie has responded to what Jay said.

"Uhhh… uhhh… uhm…" Jay stammers for a moment, she was at a loss for words. She kept trying to think of a way to flirt again, to say something about how she adores Marie but nothing sounds right to her mind, they all sound forced and ingenuine, she has to say something or else Marie might think the line went dead! Focus Jay, focus, just suggest a date idea. "Uhh… How about a walk through Inkopolis park? Say around eight so we could catch the sunset?"

"That sounds lovely Jay, I'll be at your place around seven thirty so we can make it to the park by eight. See you later! *click*" Marie hung up quickly, Jay wasn't sure why, but she agreed! It was so exciting! She was going to be going on a date with Marie! And it was an ACTUAL DATE! Not like what happened with Three and Eight where it was a whole 'will they won't they' thing that everyone and their pet knew would actually happen. Oh but now she had to find something NICE to wear!

"Shit" Jay looks down at herself and realizes she's wearing sweatpants and a grease stained teeshirt, granted it was grease stained because after doing her league battles for the day with her team she had gone over to Crusty Seans's truck and refueled her energy but still! Jay runs over to her bedroom and starts tearing through her closet. Surely there must be something cute but not over the top… Okay absolutely no way she is wearing pants though, those are reserved for functional purposes only, like agent work and when she needs to be warmer than just her underwear will allow for. No she needs something like a cute dress! Or maybe a skirt and a blouse?

"Augh! Why is this so difficult?!" Jay realizes maybe she should've put a little more thought into this, but she isn't going to give up! She shoves aside every pair of pants she owns and pretends they don't exist, she doesn't like pants at the best of times, the last thing she needs right now is to feel dysphoric while she's on a date! She continues searching through her clothes, trying to fi- why is there a llama hat? _When did she buy this and why?_ She tosses the hat aside, it's time to focus. She considers a skirt and blouse combo for a minute but then remembers that none of her blouses are clean at the moment, and she doesn't have time to do laundry. She then digs a little deeper into her closet and... Oh! A sun dress! Perfect!

"Oh this is exactly what I need! Something cute but not over the top!" It's a simple design, white dress with a sunflower pattern all over it, super cute and it accents her natural yellow tentacles quite well. She decides to go with the cream basics as shoes, sure they're the default but she's not exactly trying to draw attention to her feet anyways, she thinks that would be weird. As for her head wear, well why not her glasses! She actually needs them to see, so what better way to show her true self to Marie than something as simple as glasses! She sets the dress on her bed and then goes over to her bathroom to get freshened up, she's gotta make sure she's clean after all.

She takes a quick shower, she wasn't dirty or anything but just in case. She wanted to make sure any and all of the potential smell of sweat from her ranked and league battles that day was completely washed away and nonexistent on her body. She lets the warm water wash over her and purrs softly, letting it envelop her as she relaxes, waiting a moment or so before finally starting to actually wash herself. She was glad to see that Alex had survived and was on the road to recovery. Not to mention she had given some remarkably helpful advice too, despite being stuck in a hospital bed. Jay really would have to go above and beyond to make sure she and her cousin spent some proper time together once she got out of the hospital. Jay had been having some success with ranked battles, and was putting together a team for tournaments, maybe she could see if Alex would consider joining it!

But that would have to be a question for another day. Jay had a date to go on! She was still surprised that Marie said "yes" to it, especially with how botched the attempt at asking was, but still! She wasn't about to let this opportunity go to waste. She takes extra care to make sure her tentacles are clean and shined, maybe blushing a little as she imagines Marie gently caressing them, but she quickly quells those thoughts as she steps out of the shower and dries herself off, before heading back into her bedroom and getting herself dressed. She pats down the dress to make sure it's free of wrinkles, she has to do everything she can to make herself as presentable as possible after all! Once she's satisfied with the lack of wrinkles she gets her undergarments on and then slips into the dress.

Something about wearing dresses always made Jay feel more comfortable about who she was, which she definitely needed right now as she got herself ready to go on a date with the girl she's been crushing on for literal years. Sure Jay had next to no idea who Marie was when they'd first met, but at the time Jay's only knowledge of the Squid Sisters was a passing mention, she'd never done much research. She also didn't watch much TV or listen to much music outside of what was available in her small town, Alex was the one who got really into the whole music thing, even going so far as to take up drums! Jay was quite young when the Squid Sisters stopped by her and Alex's home town on a tour, Alex had only just gained control of her humanoid form, and Jay was still a few years off.

Alex had won tickets to the concert but Jay sadly had prior arrangements that couldn't be altered. Alex was so sad she couldn't take Jay. This was well before the Squid Sisters were even hosts of Inkopolis News too, that would be four years out still, but they were still gaining traction as young up-and-coming pop stars. To think that all these years later Jay would be GOING ON A DATE with one of them, neither Jay nor Alex would ever have guessed.

Once Jay's got everything on and she's satisfied with how it sits on her body, she goes over to her vanity and sits down to start getting some light makeup on. She's had this vanity since she was very young, Alex's parents had gotten it for her when she moved in with them. It wasn't cheap either, they'd gone above and beyond what they needed to do… probably because Alex insisted. It was a solid unit, built with both wood and metal, with a mirror that lit her face up with a ring of lights around the outside of it. It was white with multiple drawers for her makeup, and even a convex mirror for up close and personal touch ups that was on an adjustable arm.

Jay doesn't want to go over the top or anything, so she goes for a neutral look, opting to make her lips just a touch pinker than they usually are and maybe drawing some attention to them with the rest of her makeup, maybe it's hopeful thinking but hey a girl can try can't she? She smiles at herself in the mirror and blushes a little, she never thought she'd end up going on a date with someone so wonderful as Marie, but life truly is full of wonderful surprises!

Jay was about to get going when her phone beeps at her. She grabs it and looks at it, reading the notification and realizing she'd set a reminder for herself. Time to take her hormones again! Jay again smiles, doing this now means she won't have to awkwardly pause the date to take her hormones, even if she knows that Marie wouldn't mind. She does quickly take them and finishes getting ready, she's so beyond excited now that she can barely contain herself. She takes one last look in the mirror and makes sure her tentacles are situated and look clean, and that nothing is egregiously out of place. With a smile she heads for the door, making sure to have her phone and wallet on her, now just waiting for Marie to arrive so she can head out for her first date!


	32. 7-4 A welcome visit

Two weeks have passed, and Three is… still recovering. Every day she'd get a little stronger, but she was still unable to walk under her own power. She was getting closer every day, but every time she failed she'd get frustrated, she'd try and try and try until they had to force her to stop before she hurts herself. Then Three would lay in her hospital bed and cry while no one was looking. She just wanted to be back to normal, she wanted to go on walks with Eight like they used to. She wants to start planning their wedding… Three just wants to be happy again.

Eight no longer had to be connected physically to Three to keep her alive, as the Inkling was no longer at risk of dying due to ink loss. So Eight took to making sure she did everything she could for Three. Between going out and getting her food that tasted better than hospital food, and going home and getting Three's computer so she wouldn't be bored out of her mind if she awoke at 3am and was unable to get back to sleep. Three appreciated Eight and everything the Octoling did for her, but she felt so helpless. She hated needing to have everything done for her, she could barely even wash herself and even then she needed a shower chair and nearly an hour to actually get clean. She was frustrated, she felt trapped in her own body. But the worst thing, the thing she hasn't even told Eight about… was that her scar pain had resurfaced. It wasn't as bad as before, no longer was it episodes that lasted for minutes, but occasionally she'd get one that would last upwards of ten seconds, and that period of time was absolute hell.

Three assumed the return of the pain was either related to the sheer level of stress and trauma she'd been through when she was captured, or due to the fact that her wrists had been slowly injected with more of the sanitization compound which resulted in it going up to her scar. She hadn't had the chance to put any ice on it since she wasn't at home and she wasn't exactly sure how to bring up her pain to a doctor without ending up stuck in the hospital for longer, and she really just wanted to go home now. Home was where she felt safe. Here with all these machines and just… the medical atmosphere in general… it reminded her too much of Kamabo. Sure it wasn't exactly the same but it was similar enough to be unsettling to her.

Three just stares up at the ceiling, it's been almost three weeks that she's been here, she hopes they let her go home soon. Eight wasn't able to come by today, she had to be at the apartment to make sure they didn't assume it was abandoned and let someone else move in. Eight was also probably trying to get it set up such that Three would be able to use the apartment while in a wheelchair until her legs were back to working. Three knew that's what Eight was doing today, she heard her talking about it over the phone when she was pretending to be asleep. She appreciated Eight being so caring and doing all of these things that she knew she wasn't able to do for herself yet but… that was the problem. She HATED that she had to rely so heavily on her friends. She'd been trying to open up to the idea of it a little more, she got Pearl and Marina to help out when she went to get the ring after all, but this was different. She was… broken.

Before Three could wallow in self pity for too long however, a nurse comes in to check on her. She got her vitals checked to make sure her body was still recovering, her ink pressure and ink levels were the first things checked, and they came back good. Her reflexes were getting better, her leg actually moved when they tested it this time! It was a good sign, she could see her legs starting to get some size again, no longer being the thin twigs they'd been in the first week when her body drew ink away from her extremities to mend her core. They'd explained that, while her legs hadn't faced any trauma, a result of losing so much ink was that her body tried to preserve itself as best it can, which meant that once she was no longer using her legs, her body pulled ink from them to keep her alive. Now, as a result, Ink was no longer good at flowing through them in the amounts it used to, so she'd need to train up her legs if she ever wanted to walk again. She was told that, after about six months of walking normally, she'd likely be back to where she was before. But she'd have to be training hard and making sure to not rest on them for too long.

After the nurse was done the checkup, she announced that Three had a visitor! Three was surprised, she didn't expect to see anyone today, they all had things going on. Callie and Marie had to go out on tour WITH Pearl and Marina. It was some joint tour that'd been planned and had been in the works for over a year. Three wasn't upset, she encouraged them to go. She even joked "maybe when you get back I'll be on my feet again". They were weary but at least she was making jokes again. Jay was, unsurprisingly, going along with Marie. She'd heard that her cousin had taken her advice and that she and Marie were giving things a shot. Three was incredibly enthusiastic about Jay pursuing that avenue, because she felt like Marie would be good for her. And Eight was, as previously mentioned, predisposed.

Three, unsure who to expect, simply told the nurse to let her visitor come in. Much to her surprise, she heard the idle tak of a bamboo cane gently touching the ground as the old Captain Cuttlefish enters her room. Three feels a strange sense of calm wash over her, there was something about the old man that just made her feel at home. He reminded her a lot of her own grandfather actually, a sweet, kind old man, with many a story of the days when he was young. Three smiles as she makes eye contact with him, and he smiles back at her softly, pulling up a chair and sitting next to her.

"Well hello there Agent Three… or should I just call you Alex?" The old man chuckles, taking Three's hand and holding it softly to ensure she knew he was actually there, and not just a projection of her mind. He was well versed in ink-loss, he'd fought in a war after all. While he has many stories of battles that he won… he also had many stories of comrades he'd lost in the line of fire. "You never did tell me your name when I recruited you all those years ago, but your cousin seemed quite eager to share it."

"Yeah" Three chuckles softly as well, coughing a little as her body is still recovering, but nothing more than a mild blip. She takes a deep breath before smiling at him again. She had her own reasons for not sharing her name back then, she was trying to forge a new identity for herself, she was afraid that if people knew her name, they'd somehow link it back to her hometown and think less of her for it. How foolish that notion was. "But uh… yeah, it's good to see you Cap'n"

"It's good to see you too, Alex. Especially after what happened, it's good to see you alive." He smiles, resting his cane on his lap and pulling his hand back after a moment. He looks down at his cane/weapon for a moment, looking it over and making sure the safety is still on, which it is. He then looks back up at Three, hoping his presence helps calm her mind.

"Cap'n… I… Thank you for coming today, I was afraid I'd have to spend today alone." Alex smiles softly at him, relaxing her mind and starting to let her guard down a little. She could trust him after all. But just because she could trust HIM didn't mean she could expect him to fight like he was still a young Inkling, so she was still a little on edge. But something about his presence just nagged at her to stop being so paranoid and let herself rest.

"That's precisely why I came today. I wanted to make sure you weren't left alone with your thoughts, thinking that somehow there's something wrong with you for surviving!" He thwunks her head lightly with his bamboozler cane, he knew how the young agent's mind had been running, he'd had his own run the same way during the war.

"R-Right… ow… But still, I appreciate it all the same, it's always good to see you." Alex smiles again, rubbing the spot on her head that just got bamboozled. It's like he knew exactly what was going through her mind and was actively counteracting it without shame. Which of course he _was_. He'd been through this rodeo plenty of times, between himself, plenty of comrades in the war, and to a degree even his own granddaughters, he knew what self loathing looked like, and it was painted all over the young agent's face.

He nods, giving her another soft smile as well. He had thought that Octavio's actions had been despicable, but after witnessing the atrocities of Kamabo, he was almost willing to think about forgiving the old Octopus… ALMOST. But Octavio still had yet to truly prove he'd changed. Still, he was a lot less hostile these days, so if nothing else, that was a plus. Alex was recovering now, she'd been through entirely too much and she deserved rest. The old Cuttlefish had long decided that, even once she's fully healed, Alex is getting a long break from agent work. It starts by using her real name rather than her agent number.

"It's nice that we're able to see each other without something trying to take over or destroy the world for once, even if the reason is… less than ideal. But remember, your friends will be there for you, no matter what. Don't be afraid to rely on them, they WANT to help you." The old Captain says to Alex, to which the young agent simply nods in agreement.

"I know, Cap'n, I know… I know they care about me, and I care about them too! I… I know I'm going to need their help to heal from this, and even then" She grabs the charred stump of what used to be her right tentacle, looking over at it with a pained expression. "I don't know if I'll ever fully heal."

"Maybe you won't. But maybe you're not supposed to, maybe you're supposed to take this and grow from it." Captain Cuttlefish replies, sort of just thinking out loud but still trying his best to comfort the squid. Many of his own friends from war time had injuries like Alex's current one, pieces of themselves that they lost in one way or another.

"What exactly do you mean?" Alex tilts her head to the side a little like a curious dog. She's more than willing to listen to his advice, she could listen to him talk for hours on end about his old war stories, his voice was just so comforting, it was like coming home. But she still didn't quite understand what he meant, so she pays extra attention to his next words.

"Well, maybe it can be something about yourself you embrace. Something that the world tried to throw at you as a bad thing, and then you turn around and make it a staple of who you are. Or maybe you just ignore it and pretend it isn't there, whichever makes you happiest." Captain Cuttlefish gives a soft smile, trying his best to comfort Alex with his words, knowing that surely Eight would be much better at it, or even his own granddaughters, but they're all unavailable.

"Huh… I guess I hadn't thought of it like that. I've been… so focused on what I lost, what was taken from me… I guess I never thought to turn that on its head…" Alex thinks to herself for a moment, pondering what she could do with this information. It wouldn't be something that would just click instantly but, she figures it's at least worth bringing up with her therapist when she's able to see him again. Oh boy he's gonna LOVE how long the list of things to talk about she has is, she's been writing them down so she doesn't forget, and as such, she pulls out her laptop and opens her document, jotting down the suggestion Captain Cuttlefish just made.

"So, how long until you're able to go back home? I know you're longing to sleep in your own bed again, and not smell that "hospital smell" that you've surely become all too familiar with." Captain Cuttlefish inquires, he knows if he'd been in a hospital bed for as long as Alex has, he'd have surely driven himself mad with boredom.

"Hopefully I'll be out of here by the end of the week… Eight's gonna have to take over helping me strengthen my legs again since the doctors won't be able to come to the apartment to do it." Alex sighs, she really doesn't like how much Eight has to do for her. It's not that she doesn't want Eight's help, it's more that she feels like she's requiring too much of the Octoling.

"Well, I'm sure she's more than happy to. Whenever we see her all she can talk about is how worried she is about you, and how she wishes she could do more. She really cares for you, don't forget that." He smiles at her again, making sure Alex's mind doesn't suddenly drift into the wrong territory. Alex turns to him and smiles in response, she knows what he did and she's appreciative.

"Thanks Cap'n, I'll be sure to show her my appreciation any way I can." Alex smiles as well, resting her head down. She was at peace for the first time in a while. Sensing this, Captain Cuttlefish decides it's best the conversation ends there, but he doesn't leave. He stays by her side in case she needs someone to talk to for any reason. Before too long, both the young agent and the old cuttlefish have both fallen asleep.


	33. 7-5 Coming home

The day finally came, Agent Three had been discharged from the hospital, and was now on the way home. She sat in the back seat of Callie's truck so Eight could sit next to her and hold her hand, Marie was occupying the front passenger seat at the time as well. Three idly stares out the window into the distance, she can see the tower from Inkopolis Plaza and she has some idle thoughts about the past. Apparently some people still went there for battles, it was less common than the square, but most of the people battling there had modified weapons now. There were less people watching the matches there so they could get away with bending the rules. She'd heard stories about people who managed to somehow have an entire battle with both teams only wielding Inkzookas. She thinks that actually would've been a fun match to watch. But alas, she is on the way back to her apartment now, she wouldn't be able to participate in any battles for some time, aside from as a spectator.

After a few minutes of driving, they pull up at the apartment building. Three sighs as the vehicle comes to a stop and she pulls her seatbelt off, Callie and Marie getting out first and going around to the bed of the truck. After a moment, Three's door opens and the wheelchair she has to use is waiting for her. She insists on trying to get into it herself, Marie holding the door steady so she can use it to help get herself out of the truck without it moving on her. She lands with a bit of a thud, having dropped a little further than anticipated when she'd positioned herself over it. But now she's in it, and Callie pulls the chair back so Eight can climb out the same door.

Three doesn't say much, she just wheels herself towards the apartment building as Eight, Callie, and Marie carry whatever personal belongings were brought to the hospital up to the apartment so Three or Eight don't have to make so a bunch of trips up and down the elevator. She'd been allowed to wear her own clothes after a few days, once she no longer needed the intravenous drip of medications. She was on a handful of meds which were designed to help get the flow of ink heading back to her legs, and to help ease the pain of her wounds.

"Okay, we're heading out, if you need anything don't hesitate to call us okay?" Marie hugs Eight and then goes over and gives Three a hug as well, Three was fighting her tears because she was just so overwhelmed with everything right now, she hoped being home with Eight would help it. Callie then does the same as Marie, giving both of them a hug and smiling before heading back down to Callie's truck and heading out.

Eight turns to Three, who's just staring at her hands at the moment. Naturally Eight's response is to take hold of those hands and rub them softly with her thumbs. Three audibly fights back tears, taking a deep breath and squeezing Eight's hands in return. She tilts her head up and looks into Eight's eyes, she sees that the Octoling is smiling softly, and Eight would see that Three's eyes are welling with tears. Three looks back down at Eight's hand, and then she spots it, the ring, sitting on Eight's finger. She pulls Eight's hand closer and finally a smile creeps across the Inkling's face.

"M-Maybe… things will finally start getting better." Three manages to say, wiping the tears from her eyes and prompting a hug from her fiance. Three lets out a soft sigh and hugs back, finally putting her face into Eight's shoulder and letting herself cry. She needed to do this, she needed to get out all of the raw emotions she had from what had happened, and Eight was the only one she trusted enough to be this vulnerable around.

"They will love, I promise." Eight gently draws circles on Three's back with her fingers, comforting her and just allowing her to have her moment. A lot of Eight's own emotions about the situation had been shed to Pearl and Marina, primarily because Three needed to recover and didn't need Eight adding on to it since she had her own support group available. Any other time she would've come to Three first, but this time, Three needed to heal too.

Three just lets herself break down, she was so afraid she'd never get to see Eight again when she was down there, so afraid her life was over, even more afraid she'd be used to hurt her friends and lover. She was so sure she was going to be sanitized, and she knows that if she was facing down a Sanitized Eight, she wouldn't be able to pull the trigger. Maybe Eight is stronger than her, but in the moment, she just felt so much fear over the pain she could've caused. After a few minutes though, she finally feels herself calming down, and Eight pulls back from the hug a little to wipe Three's tears and to give her another smile.

"We're going to be just fine, okay?" Eight smiles and gently rubs Three's cheek with her thumb. After a moment, Eight leans in for a kiss and Three leans in as well, pressing their lips together. Three finally felt herself relaxing, even purring softly. They remain together like this for a few moments, both of them can feel themselves relaxing as they both come to realize that yes, they're home, and together. After a few moments of this, Eight pulls away from the kiss and Three finally smiles, blushing a little.

"Can uhm… can you help me get onto the couch? I wanna watch TV with you for a while." Three asks softly, it seems like something small, but in reality this was something she'd been wanting to do since shortly after waking up in the hospital. It would allow her to have a moment of pretending everything is fine, a moment where she can remind herself that the bad times are over, she's safe and home now. It would give her the ability to finally convince herself that she wasn't just GOING to be okay, she WAS okay.

"Of course my love, anything for you." Eight kisses Three again quickly and softly, wheeling the chair a little closer to the couch and then helping Three stand from it, supporting her body but doing her best to help Three simply walk to the couch. A few steps, but enough that Three can do it with Eight supporting her. Three smiles again, taking her seat and waiting for Eight to join her.

Eight takes a moment to move Three's chair to the side, so that when Three needs to use it it's accessible, but when she doesn't it's not in her line of sight so she doesn't have to think about it. Then she takes her seat, and Three leans into her, resting her head on the Octoling's right shoulder. Eight grabs the remote and the TV comes to life, filling the room with light as she shuffles through channels to find something to watch. Eventually it just ends up on the news because they can't be bothered to find a show worth watching, plus, it's good to keep up on the happenings around Inkopolis. The news story today seems… quite interesting.

"Terrifying reports came in today about a malfunctioning spawn point, witnesses testified they spotted it sparking and even looking like it might catastrophically fail if someone attempted to respawn with it. Thankfully this was reported before any matches took place on the map, and technicians were quick to shut down all battles until they can check over every spawn point to ensure they're all safe to use, and plan to increase the frequency of checks to ensure no incidents occur as a result of these spawn points." The Inkling news anchor reports, it was clear she was reading off a prompter but all the same, you could hear her emotional reaction to it, she was surprised, as were Three and Eight.

"Gods could you imagine what would've happened had that not been caught?" Three comments, kinda just trying to make small talk, she's got a thought on her mind but she doesn't wanna jump right to it. She wants to just kinda, exist for a bit, so she makes small talk with Eight. She also is genuinely shook by the news that a spawn point could've KILLED someone, she couldn't help but imagine Jay going off to battle, so excited, and then just not coming back, it chilled her to the core. But they said they're going to be doubling down to ensure this won't happen, so she's confident that battles are still safe.

"Yeah, that could've been bad." Eight agrees, idly rubbing the top of Three's head without really paying attention to what her hand was doing. Three seemed to be enjoying it though so she kept doing it even when she did notice that she was doing so. If it helped Three relax, she would do it as long as she possibly could. After a moment, Three shuffles a little bit, turning her head to look up at Eight. Eight turns down the volume of the TV since it looks like Three wants to talk about something.

"Hey uh, Eight… Can I ask you something?" Three has a curious look on her face, like she's unsure what to expect when she asks her question, which to be fair she was. Three had been spending a lot of time thinking since Captain Cuttlefish had come to visit her, something he said had been stuck in her mind and she couldn't help but feel like he was right.

"Of course love, anything, I'm all ears." Eight smiles and shifts their positions so they can face each other a little better, stealing the chance to give Three a quick peck on the lips. Three blushes a little, but the kiss does seem to have calmed her nerves a little, which Eight takes as a win, Three's been so stressed lately.

"Okay. This uh, this might sound weird but, when Cap'n came to visit me in the hospital… he kinda insisted on using my real name rather than my agent number… and I think… I think I liked it…" Three pauses for a moment, gauging Eight's reactions to her words, and also to make sure she was still on board with her own idea. After affirming to herself that this is indeed what she wants, she finishes her thought. "So I thought… maybe we could do that. Use our actual names instead of our numbers… you can still call me 'Three' as like, a nickname, and also on duty it will be easier but… I would prefer it if you'd… start calling me Alex more often…"

Eight pauses for a moment, contemplating in her mind the things which her partner has said to her. She ponders a lot of things for how short of a time she's actually thinking for. She thinks back to when they'd started dating, they were going by their numbers because that's all Eight knew of herself, and Three preferred it. Slowly over time, both of them had begun hearing their real names more and more, and perhaps this was a natural progression. Eight hadn't fully recovered from her memories coming back, there were still some things she'd seen that she truly wishes she hadn't. But those were things she could leave in the past, her identity was tied to Three's… or rather… Alex's.

"Okay, let's do it. It'll probably take a little time for me to adjust so… correct me if I mess up… and I think… I think I want the same as you… "Eight" is a good nickname and will be good for agent things but, at home, when I'm with you, let's leave the agent stuff at the door. We'll just be Kiaria and Alex, two dorks in love with each other" She smiles as she rubs her lover's cheek. Both of them are smiling at each other, and then they lean in and give each other a soft tender kiss.

"Thank you love… I give it a month before we're using pet names based on our real names" Alex giggles and pecks Kiaria on the lips again quickly, both purring softly and sharing the closeness. They finally had a moment where they were truly their own. No more agent numbers tied to them, no, they were their own cephalopods now. They would not be defined by their past but rather by the lives they forge together.

"I give it a week" Kiaria giggles in response and leans in for another kiss, one which lasts much longer than before. They remain close together, their lips inseparable as the TV just continues playing the news channel with no one paying any attention to it. Alex and Kiaria were going to be just fine, nothing could possibly get between them and their love, they'd faced so many challenges as it is, surely nothing that could happen to them would be worse than what they've already faced.


	34. 8-1 Marie gets a phone call

Marie and Callie arrive home, they'd just been out doing patrols to make sure Octarians weren't making a move to try and free Octavio again, which of course they weren't. They knew better than to try, and he knew better than to let them anyways. Especially with everyone being so on-edge as a result of the recent events regarding Agent Three and Kamabo, so Octavio is, for now anyways, being respectable.

"Ugh, I swear these patrols are getting more and more tedious with each passing day" Callie thwumps herself down on the couch, tossing her shades onto the coffee table. She was still dressed in her agent gear, as was Marie, but given how long the day was, they both wanted a chance to rest a little before they actually got into their comfortable clothes. Besides, their agent gear wasn't exactly uncomfortable either, so they had no qualms leaving it on for a while.

"Well if things keep going the way they are, we might finally be able to be a bit more lax in our patrols… there hasn't really been much octarian activity outside of the domes lately, it's possible that the rebels are gaining ground." Marie idly states as she takes off her face mask and puts it in a bin to be washed, also taking off her hat and hanging it on the hat stand and letting her tentacles down. "Ah that's better!"

"That would be nice, maybe we'd finally be able to do normal Inkling things like… finding someone to date." Callie chuckles, looking straight at Marie with a smirk. She knows EXACTLY who her cousin has a crush on, and she knows for a fact she hasn't acted on it. Callie tried being subtle with her before but now she feels like she has to be more blunt about it, otherwise Marie might never actually get a date. She keeps the look fixated on Marie, and when she notices it, Marie just makes a confused look in return, raising her eyebrow slightly.

"What's got you so smug?" Marie takes her jacket off now and hangs it up as well before going over to her recliner and plunking herself down on it. She gives her cousin this confused stare that Callie simply becomes more smug from seeing. Marie's expression becomes more confused, before suddenly Marie actually registers what Callie said, and she fully understands the look her cousin is giving her. Marie's expression shifts from confusion to flustered, her face warming up and being tinted green by her ink.

"You like her! Ask her out!" Callie says, trying to build Marie up so she'll actually do it. Callie could see the way her cousin would look at their fellow agent, and the fact that Marie very obviously thought highly of her. Callie had yet to figure out why her cousin hadn't just bit the bullet and asked her out. But whatever it was, Callie was sure that the explanation wouldn't be good enough.

"I-I… N-No! I can't do that!..." Marie blushes hard, averting her gaze from her cousin for a moment. While it's true her feelings are there, it would feel wrong if she just went and asked her out! At least in her own opinion. Marie has her reasons, and she's set in them, and as a result, she's going to be incredibly difficult and refuse to change her stance on the situation at hand.

"Why not! It's obvious you like her! Just ask her!" Callie prods, continuing to try and egg her cousin on. She knows they'd be good together and she just doesn't understand. She wants to see her cousin happy and she knows that Marie's been needing companionship that isn't just familial. While Callie is always happy to spend time with her cousin, she knows Marie needs more than just her in order to be truly happy.

"Because! If _I_ ask her out, I'm afraid she'd feel like she HAS to go out with me! I don't want her to go out with me because she feels like she has to! I want her to do it because SHE wants it!" Marie huffs, and then blushes hard as she realizes she's just aired her own feelings so freely. But she's sure of herself, her reasoning makes sense to her, even if it's a bit unfair to Jay and also to herself. She figures at least she's being unfair to the both of them, which somehow _makes_ it fair.

Callie was, understandably, a little shocked. She hadn't really expected this answer out of her cousin at all. Back when she herself and Alex had a little fling Callie had no problems asking her out, it just never really went anywhere. Callie was more than happy that Alex has found Kiaria now though, they're really good for each other. But Marie and Jay would be really good together too!

"Marie… What if she wants to try a relationship with you and she's just too intimidated by who you are to ask?! Sure back when you two met she had virtually no clue who you were but she knows now! Maybe she's scared because she thinks you're so much higher than her!" Callie tries her best to explain, but she was never the 'give a pep talk' type. She hopes she can at least get Marie to consider just going out for coffee or something with Jay. She isn't really sure how to do it but she's determined to. Callie hopes her explanation will at least make Marie soften up a little so Jay can actually have a chance. "So many fans put us on this pedestal that makes us seem unattainable to them, that's why dating in general is so hard for us! Pearl and Marina cheated the system by not being related so they can just date each other."

Marie rolls her eyes and chuckles at the last quip. While sure it is convenient that Pearl and Marina can just date each other, Marie doesn't have that luxury. Marie is pretty sure their relationship started prior to their career taking off anyways. No, Marie likes Jay, and she has to find some way to get the girl to ask her out. Maybe she could drop some hints that she's interested? Well, more than she's already been doing. Unfortunately Marie is set in her mind that she can't be the one to ask her out, Jay has to be the one to ask Marie out. Marie feels like her reasons are justified, but she does at least understand where Callie is coming from.

"Look, Cals, I know you're trying to help. But the reality is… you can't change my mind, or the way I feel about this. Jay has to come to ME. Tell you what, if she asks me to go out for coffee or to get a schwaffle or something of the sort that is sort of a date but not really, at the end of it I'll ask her for another "date" okay? Does that satisfy you?" Marie says to Callie, just trying to get to the part where she can relax and go back to not thinking about how cute Jay is or how she seems to fit so perfectly into that hero outfit or… dammit stop that Marie!

"Humph… fine, you'd better find out how good of a kisser she is on that first date though, nothing seals a first date like a good kiss!" Callie chuckles, thinking back to the handful of first dates she herself has had. As well as the one time it went further than just the kiss on a first date… but that was partially because Alex had saved the Great Zapfish so it was technically part of her reward for it. Oops now Callie is reminiscing.

Marie rolls her eyes and is about to offer up a retort, but in that exact moment, Marie's phone begins ringing! Marie fumbles a little, being moderately startled by it as she reaches to her pocket to take out the cellular device and find out just which cephalopod has decided to attempt to reach her using it. Much to her surprise, it's Jay! Marie doesn't usually answer the phone, especially not for anything that isn't work related, but something in her gut tells her this is an important call to take, so she answers it and holds the receiver up to her ear.

"Hello? Four- I mean… Jay?" Marie answers, blushing a little from using her agent number at first instead of her name, but it's a force of habit. So many of her interactions with her are all business, she hopes that maybe she could start spending more casual time with her, maybe that would be a good start. She clears her throat and hopes that Jay doesn't mind the little mix up, she is genuinely happy to hear from her, she even blushes a little from hearing her voice through the receiver.

"Hey Marie… uh… I'm beautiful, wanna go on a date?" Jay says through the phone. Marie wants to be shocked that Jay has actually asked her out, but thankfully, the little mixup with the pickup line was enough to keep her in the moment, it was honestly funny enough for her to giggle at, and blush a little harder from as well. Well she's got her wish, Jay's asked her out! Marie can't help but be overjoyed, she'd secretly been hoping for Jay to make this exact phone call for so long! Since around when Alex and Kiaria got together actually. Now she has to figure out how to proceed without sounding like she's been waiting for this for ages.

"I would've said 'cute' but I guess beautiful works too… and, I'd be honored Jay." Marie says, smiling so hard it comes through her voice. She's even started playing idly with one of her tentacles since it's hanging freely at the moment rather than being up in the usual bow. She seems quite happy at this moment.

"Uhhh… uhhh… uhm…" Jay stammers for a moment, Marie could tell Jay hadn't expected to succeed in asking her out so easily, but Marie wasn't going to play 'hard to get' for any reason, especially because she wants to go out with Jay too. Playing hard to get would just make everything frustrating. Finally after a few moments, Marie can hear Jay speak again, it seems she's finally gotten over the initial shock. "Uhh… How about a walk through Inkopolis park? Say around eight so we could catch the sunset?"

"That sounds lovely Jay, I'll be at your place around seven thirty so we can make it to the park by eight. See you later! *click*" Maire quickly ends the call because she needs to SQUEAL with excitement! Callie, who had just watched the whole thing unfold, was just chuckling and smirking. Marie rolled her eyes at her again, and then went right back to being excited. After a few moments of being an excited cephalopod, Marie realizes something, something she hadn't thought of when she agreed to the date. "Shit I need to dress up so I look good… but not TOO good, I don't want to overdress… but still I should wear something kinda nice?"

"Marie, whatever you wear, she's going to think you look beautiful, so don't stress too much. But if you want my suggestion, don't go in a dress, go in something semi-formal still, but just not a dress." Callie smiles, she's genuinely excited for her cousin, she really hopes the date goes well, and something in her gut is telling her that Marie should wear something other than a dress.

"You think so? I guess that makes sense. Alright I'll go see what I have… I think I'll leave my tentacles down though, I think she'll like them like this. Plus I'm less likely to be recognized without having them up like normal." Marie smiles and gets up off her recliner, heading over to her room to find something to wear for her date. Something tells her this is going to be a night to remember.


	35. 8-2 A walk in the park

Jay was, understandably, very excited right now. She was about to go on a date with the girl she's had a crush on for ages! She was waiting by her front door for Marie to either text or call or buzz or something to indicate she was here. Jay had made sure she was cleaned up and dressed up, but not too dressed up, so that she could make a good impression on this first date. Jay wasn't entirely sure what she should expect but she was ready for anything. Sure enough after a few moments of waiting, the buzzer buzzes, meaning she has a guest! Jay goes over to it and presses the speak button so she can confirm the identity of her guest.

"Hello?" Jay's excitement was palpable, it was audible even through the intercom down to the main floor. She hoped it wasn't too obvious that she'd been waiting for this moment for the better part of a few years, but nonetheless, she was still very happy that Marie said yes. She was bouncing a little bit as well, but she was trying to calm herself down, she doesn't want to embarrass herself after all.

"Hey Jay, it's me! Can you let me in?" Marie's voice called clearly through the speaker and Jay's hearts fluttered. Jay quickly presses the door open button and lets Marie enter the building. She should've maybe said something before unlocking the door, something like 'sure come on in!' but she was too nervous and excited to think properly. Now all she had to do was wait for the knock on her apartment door. Now that the moment was so close though, she found herself fidgeting a little more than she expected, maybe this was a bad idea, she's not ready for this!

*Knock Knock Knock*

It's too late, Marie is here, Jay is dressed up and ready to go. She has to just swallow her nerves and go for it. Surely everything will be fine right? They're friends at least so they'll get along, they have similar senses of humor and they enjoy a lot of the same media, so there's compatibility already outside of the fact that they both find each other attractive. Okay, she can do this, she defeated DJ Octavio, she faced down countless Octarian soldiers, she can handle one date with her crush, right? Right, okay, she's opening the door.

"Hey Ma-" Jay can't even finish her thought, Marie is dressed so stunningly that it stops her brain in its tracks. She's wearing a black button down shirt with a matching black tie, and also a black pair of dress pants. To cap it off, her hair isn't up in its usual bow, but rather hanging down, a black ponytail elastic keeping the two long tentacles together so they don't flop about TOO wildly.

"Hey Jay!" Marie gives a warm smile, and then she notices Jay's sundress and blushes immensely. Marie would argue that Jay is the better dressed of the two, but Marie is very glad she didn't wear a dress to this, the only dresses she has are her Squid Sisters dress, and some overly formal ones. Sure it would be a good option if they were going to an expensive restaurant for dinner or something, but that isn't at all what they're doing. They're spending time together and watching the sunset, and if things go well, maybe they'll share a kiss or something. "Oh wow, you look… stunning!"

"I-I uh… th-thanks! You look absolutely gorgeous, I mean you always do but like, especially right this second." Jay fidgets a little and blushes, giving Marie a sheepish smile. Jay hopes her words aren't off-putting, she's trying her best despite her nerves. Fortunately, Marie's response is simply to giggle a little and blush herself.

"So uh, you said you wanted to go to the park?" Marie knows it's awkward because they're both about to go on a proper date with the person they're crushing on, so she decides to at least TRY and keep things going somewhat smoothly. Marie isn't going to hold anything against Jay, especially not after the girl finally managed to muster the courage to ask her out! Upon hearing Marie's words, Jay perks up and quickly shakes her head, getting her mind back on track.

"Yes! Yes that's right! Sorry just had a bit of a panicked moment because my gods you look so amazing" Jay blushes like a dork and smiles, clearing her throat and finally feeling like she's ready to actually go on the date. She knows that the only way for this to go smoothly is for the both of them to work together, so she starts by trying to do just that, to get Marie's input on the plan of action so they can make the evening perfect together. "Okay! So uh, oh gods uhm… do we like… hold hands and walk to the park or?"

Jay was very new to dating and it was very clear. Marie found her inexperience adorable, plus it meant that her own lack of experience wouldn't be a hindrance. She and Jay could figure out the whole "dating" thing together. Marie simply extends her hand out to Jay, allowing the Inkling to hold it so they could walk hand in hand down to the park. Jay swallows her nerves and finally reaches her hand out and gently places it in Marie's. Both of them feel their hearts skip a beat and their blushes grow brighter. Finally they give each other a smile and start heading out, Jay making sure to lock the door behind them before finally making their way out to the park.

"Woah, Marie look at the lake!" Jay is mesmerized as the sun begins dipping over the horizon, turning the sky into a beautiful mix of colors, and the ripples of the water on Inkopolis lake making them dance. Marie giggles softly from how cute the Inkling is, but she has to agree, it is quite beautiful. In fact, she's been so busy for so long that she hasn't really HAD a quiet moment to admire the sunset for quite some time.

"Heh, you're right Jay, much like you, the lake is quite beautiful this evening." Marie purrs softly and moves to be a little closer to Jay as they walk through the park, hand in hand. Jay blushes harder at Marie's comment, before also giggling softly.

Eventually, they find themselves sitting on a bench, still holding hands, and watching the sun slowly dip beyond the sky. Marie scoots a little closer silently, their legs now touching. Jay blushes but says nothing, not wanting to scare Marie off. Marie lets out a soft yawn, and gently lays her head on Jay's shoulder. Jay gasps audibly, she hadn't expected things to get to this point at all. Okay to be fair she didn't expect the date to happen either but still! She turns her head to look down at Marie, and Marie turns to look up at Jay. Marie gives her a soft smile and Jay smiles back, the both of them blushing like two dorks in love.

Jay doesn't know what to do, she glances to the horizon, but then goes right back to looking at Marie, who does the same. Marie sits up a little, looking Jay in the eyes as the world around them darkens and the moon rises into view. Their noses are centimeters apart and both of them have racing hearts. It's Jay who makes the first move, inching a little closer, testing the waters. When Marie returns the motion, Jay decides to go for it. Jay leans closer, her eyes falling closed and her lips pursing slightly, only to be stopped by the soft touch of Marie's own lips against them. Jay's brain fires up and tries to make her panic and back away, but Marie was too quick, she'd put a hand on the Inkling's face and was making sure to show affection, to show that yes, yes she wants this too.

Resigning to not have to fight with her mind over what she wants and what is acceptable now, she leans her body closer, putting a hand on Marie's hip, continuing the soft kiss. Marie on the other hand, opts to keep caressing Jay's head, rubbing her ears a little as well as gently stroking her tentacles. Jay was very glad she'd taken the time to wash them now. Marie seemed enamored by them, so short compared to her own but so feminine in their own way. That was something Marie admired about Jay, she was a girl who knew how to use what she had. There were already no secrets between them, they'd had plenty of moments when they'd shared life stories, often when they were back trying to rescue Callie. Marie would tell a story of her past with her cousin, and Jay would tell a story of her own. They knew so much about each other, and finally, they knew the other's feelings.

Jay was the happiest Inkling in Inkopolis that night, though Marie might argue it was herself. Any onlookers would just see two Inklings in love, sitting on a bench and sharing a tender moment with each other. In all honesty, with how well they knew each other, it felt almost like they'd been dating for at least several months already! Maybe that's why things moved as quickly as they did. Whatever the case was, there was two Inklings, being cute, and the sky was getting darker and darker by the minute.

Eventually, the pathway lights came on, allowing anyone still in the park to see well enough to make their way along the pathways back to the city proper. This was when the kiss finally broke, and the two squids stared at each other with a loving expression, a very obvious blush, and the two dorkiest smiles any cephalopod had ever seen.

"Your uhm… your lips are very soft." Jay comments, trying to make some form of small talk to break the silence. Which works to a degree, as Marie giggles and pecks her nose softly in response. Jay blushes harder from the nose kiss, and her smile widens as well as Jay begins purring softly, which Marie finds absolutely adorable.

"As are yours Jay, worth waiting for in my opinion." Marie blushes and purrs, scooting a little closer, their legs now squishing together slightly from the proximity. She then felt Jay's hand in her own shifting slightly, moving from grabbing on to it to intertwining with it, the fingers slipping between each other and becoming one unit woven together.

"You uhm… you don't have to wait for them anymore though, if you w-wanted more I mean." Jay blushes and tries to subtly hint that she wants more kisses, though she realizes it's obscenely blunt and she smiles sheepishly after the words leave her mouth. Jay hopes Marie appreciates the attempt at subtleness, or at least appreciates the bluntness. Much to Jay's delight, Marie giggles again, leaning a little closer.

"You're cute." And then Marie presses their lips together once again, this time there was a bit more passion behind it. Marie had moved her hand from Jay's head to now hold on to her waist as well, pressing firmly into the kiss and making sure Jay was enjoying it.

Enjoying it Jay was, more than that even, Jay was loving it! She had been dreaming of a moment like this for so long and here it was, and she was making damn sure to get everything she could out of it. But she also wanted to make sure that MARIE was getting enjoyment out of it too, and the constant purring of the pop star was enough proof that she was doing something right. Jay's hand moves to Marie's back, where it begins drawing circles gently, prompting more purrs from Marie and making Jay smile and feel rather proud of herself. They remain in their embrace as time fades into unimportance, all that matters is the person they're with, and the blossoming love they both feel.


	36. 8-3 Something's fishy

Marie and Jay had made their way back to Jay's apartment, the sun having long since left the sky. They sat on Jay's couch with a show playing on the TV, though neither of them was actually paying any attention to it whatsoever. No, they were too busy sharing yet another kiss. I think it's officially safe to say these two like each other, quite a bit. But not too far from the two blossoming lovers, back at the Squid Sisters' shared apartment, there was a visitor for Callie.

The buzzer was rang and the strange figure waits for a response. No voice spoken from either side, the door simply buzzes electronically, telling the figure they're allowed entrance, and so they step inside the building and make their way towards the correct suite. They moved silently and kept their hood up, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. Fortunately it was late, so most people were asleep by now, or at the very least they were held up in their suites doing their own things.

Finally, they reach the suite, and knock on the door. Slowly the door comes open, and the figure walks inside, the door closing behind them. The lights remain dim inside of the apartment, in fact the light that was given off seemed to flicker like a flame. Upon closer inspection, the figure finds that the observation was correct, as the only sources of light at this moment were candles that lined certain strategic areas to give off the most light without being a fire hazard. And then, the figure saw… _Her._

"Hey there lovely." Callie's voice calls out as she steps towards the figure and pulls their hood down, revealing the head of the very Octoling who'd protected Three until Eight could save her. Dedf1sh stood there blushing, though the blush was only visible on the left side of her face, as the right side cheek was still the old sanitized green. Her mind control was all but completely gone, but it seems that her scarring is permanent. That said though, her freckles are coming back and some are even managing to surface on top of where her skin is still green.

"Hey Cal, uhm… th-thanks for inviting me over, it's always good to see you!" Dedf1sh replies, giving Callie a good look over. The girl was dressed up quite nicely, wearing a long black dress that went to the floor, with reflective accents in the threads which were matched to her own usual pink ink color. One might reasonably assume that she was far too dressed up for being at home, but the candles and the visitor might give a hint as to why it's appropriate.

Dedf1sh drops her cloak to the ground, revealing her own outfit. Callie has to pause and blush because she was not expecting such a cleaned up look. Dedf1sh was rocking a full suit, it was black and had a white blouse under the jacket, with a black tie on to tie it all together. Ded smiles sheepishly as she watches Callie eye her over. She'd gotten this suit just the day before, it was tailored specifically for her and it looked absolutely stunning.

"Woah, you clean up real nice!" Callie blushes and giggles, stepping closer and putting one of her hands on Ded's waist. The pair of cephalopods stare into each other's eyes and blush, they'd been sneakily seeing each other ever since Alex went into the hospital, and things were starting to heat up. Callie figures Marie will probably be out the rest of the night with Jay, so it's the perfect opportunity for a private, in-home date.

"S-So do you Cal, uh, should we maybe get to the d-date part of the night?" Dedf1sh blushes a little harder, smiling sheepishly and drawing a giggle from Callie. Callie simply nods and leads her date to the table where a simple but elegant dinner is prepared. It seems Callie knows her way around a kitchen quite well. Sitting on the table is a pot of spaghetti with some sauce, it's simple but it looks very tasty.

"Try not to get any sauce on your suit, but any you get on your face I'll be sure to help you clean up." Callie winks at her date and giggles, blowing a kiss in her direction. They'd only been doing this for about two weeks, they'd clicked almost immediately and had been spending a little bit of time with each other between doing some collaboration music at a studio, and doing things like what they're doing tonight to get to know each other better. But Callie didn't want rumors to start spreading, at least, not until she was absolutely sure their relationship was going to work out. So that's why all the secrecy. That, and it's also a little fun to sneak around Marie like this.

"R-Right…" Dedf1sh blushes at Callie's words, taking her seat as Callie does the same. The two seem comfortable in each other's company, but also like they were still unsure how to act. For Dedf1sh, it was mainly because she was new to the surface, and even then had spent most of her life as a mindless drone. She learned quickly though, she picked up Inklish incredibly fast, but Callie knew enough Octarian to fill in the gaps as well as a result of her time with Octavio.

Callie had actually made it a point to keep her Octarian fresh, to make sure she was keeping it in her mind so if there ever arose a situation of an Octoling wishing to reach the surface, she'd be able to help them by being able to communicate with them in their native tongue. She had a very Inklish accent when she spoke Octarian, but as Dedf1sh put it, that just makes it more enjoyable to hear. Callie's Octarian was part of how she and Ded hit it off so quickly as well, since the formerly sanitized Octoling had very little knowledge of the Inkling language, only a few passing remarks. She knew "This way!" and "Booyah!" which, in all honesty, probably accounted for 75% of what Inklings say, at least the ones going into battles anyways.

Callie serves up a couple plates, putting one in front of the Octoling and one in front of herself, giving a soft smile as the two began slowly eating their food. She'd told Marie to text her when she was planning on coming home so that she and Ded could make themselves scarce, Callie was planning on just saying something like "got invited to a friend's place, gonna sleep over, there's spaghetti in the fridge if you want some!". Which technically would be true, Ded had no issues inviting Callie over. But the main thing there was… friends felt like too weak of a term now, they were growing to be something more rather quickly. But for now, the two would just enjoy each other's company, and the food Callie had prepared.

The two couldn't help but admire each other. Callie found that Ded's scarring combined with the ocean of freckles on the unscarred skin was absolutely gorgeous. It gave character, and told a story, while also letting her natural beauty shine through still. Dedf1sh couldn't help but stare into Callie's eyes, the unique Cuttlefish pupils were golden, just like Callie herself. She also appreciated Callie's physique, she was strong enough to do whatever she wanted, but doesn't have big bulky biceps or anything of the sort. Just a simple, beautiful Inkling.

After a short while, the food is consumed, and the pair are sitting awkwardly on the couch right next to one another. They'd been all flirty earlier but now, now they had to figure out what to do. They could put on a movie, but they didn't know when Marie was going to be back, and they didn't want to commit to something like that just yet. They could get a bit frisky if they really wanted to, it wouldn't be their first time being touchy-feely. But once again, when was Marie coming home? Callie didn't like the fact that they couldn't really decide on anything until after they knew what Marie's ETA was, but what could be done? Well they could just go back to Ded's place, but Ded liked the Squid Sister's apartment better, more spacious. They really thought they'd be completely unable to do anything, but then as luck would have it, right when Callie was about to suggest something to pass the time, her phone dings with the preset sound for Marie.

* * *

Marie: Hey Cals, don't wait up for me, gonna spend the night at Jay's.

Callie: Ohhhh! Okay! Have fun Mar! But not too much fun, we still need her able to do agent work after all ;)

Marie: Har har, night Cal

Callie: Night!

* * *

"Oh… my gods…" Callie looks up from her phone with a gigantic grin on her face, accompanied by a large blush as well. She could hardly believe her luck! She had already assumed the night would end with Marie and Jay getting a little more familiar with each other, but she wasn't sure if that would end at Jay's apartment or theirs, and for some reason she assumed it would be theirs. But luck was on her side, and Marie would be out of the apartment until tomorrow morning at the very least. "Ded, dear, we have the apartment to ourselves all night!"

"A-All night?" Ded blushes hard, her hearts racing as she imagines what such a thing could mean. Maybe tonight she'd finally… no that was taking it too far, she had to keep her expectations realistic. But still, she was hoping this meant she could stay the night, in Callie's bed, snuggled up to Callie. Judging by the smile and blush on Callie's face as well, the Inkling was quite on board with this idea as well.

"Mhm! All night! Marie's gonna spend the night at Jay's!" Callie beams with excitement as she bounces a little, inching closer to the Octoling. Callie's hand lands on Dedf1sh's thigh, and the both of them blush as they both glance between the hand and each other's eyes. Then they just lock eyes, staring intently at each other. They lean closer, the distance between them falling from inches to centimeters, and then to millimeters, and then to nothing as their lips touch and the world fades from their minds, and all that matters in this moment is the Cephalopod they're now kissing.

Dedf1sh's hand finds its way to Callie's waist, and Callie returns the gesture. They scoot their bodies closer together as the kiss deepens. Callie brings her other hand up and cups Dedf1sh's face as they continue kissing each other. Callie's blush warms her face, her fingers gripping Dedf1sh's hip tighter and pulling her closer. They were both cooing softly and they both were very excited, with Marie remaining out of the house for the rest of the night they had the entire evening to get familiar with each other. Actually, speaking of getting to know each other. Dedf1sh breaks the kiss after a moment.

"C-Cal, wait… I-I need to tell you something… something about me I only recently remembered." Ded says with a nervous blush on her face. She didn't want to break the kiss, but this was important, something that wasn't going to change much, but it was also going to change everything.

"O-Oh? What is it?" Callie shuffles a little to listen, wanting to show she's being supportive. She isn't sure what to expect but she can tell it's important to Dedf1sh, and she wanted to make sure she did everything she could to show her support, especially because she wanted this relationship to work out.

"M-My name… it isn't… actually Dedf1sh… I mean, it has the number one in it, that should really be a giveaway…" Ded chuckles awkwardly and tries to keep the mood positive, despite how nervous she is about what she's saying. She hasn't revealed this information to anyone, and Callie would be the first person to hear it spoken. "M-My actual name is… Mizuta Ahato"

Callie has to stop, and then she blushes extra hard. She's a little shocked, she wasn't sure what to expect, but the name was so cute! It was wonderful and it suited her so well. While Dedf1sh was a wonderful stage name, and would look good on albums, it wasn't a good personal name. Mizuta Ahato was a much better personal name, a name that suited the Octoling that owned it.

"Your name… is absolutely gorgeous!" Callie beams and giggles again, leaning closer to Mizuta. The Octoling was unsure how to react. She was blushing hard, and smiling, she was very happy that Callie likes her name. This evening was really going to be good now, because Callie was leaning right back in for another kiss, which Mizuta was very eager to return. The two Cephalopods spend more time than they'd care to admit locked in this embrace, but eventually, Mizuta did get her wish of getting to sleep in Callie's bed. There were just a few less clothes involved than she'd envisioned.


	37. 8-4 Inklings and french toast

The sun slowly rises into the sky, bathing the earth in its light and causing all manner of creatures to begin arising from their slumbers. One such creature is Marie Cuttlefish, who's being awoken by the sun right in her eyes. Normally she's not up until well after the sun is, but today the sun decided to be a jerk and directly wake her up. She groans and puts an arm over her eyes to keep the sun out of them, though once she does this she begins wondering why the sun is even in her eyes at all. She'd made sure her window had blackout curtains on them to avoid this exact issue. Slowly Marie lowers her arm and opens her eyes, now that they've adjusted to the light, she finds that she isn't in her room at all!

"Wh-Wha?" Marie feels confused for a moment, but then, she hears the gentle snore beside her, and everything starts making sense. She remembers the evening she'd spent with Jay, how they'd somehow managed to get into a cheap fast food place before they closed to get cheap ice cream cones and fries to dip in them. She remembers how they'd wound up in Jay's apartment, on the couch. They'd put a movie on that they'd both seen and promptly paid exactly no attention to the movie and all of the attention to each other. In fact, Marie thinks her shirt was still over the arm of said couch. Wait a second, if her shirt was on the couch, and she was currently _here_…

Marie looks down at herself and blushes HARD. She realizes her current state of dress, or rather lack thereof, and remembers even more tiny details about the night prior. Jay had truly shown her an amazing first date, Marie couldn't deny that. She hopes Jay had as much fun as she did, because that was easily one of the best nights she's had in years. After a moment of being flustered beyond belief, she smiles and then leans over, giving Jay a soft kiss on the cheek as she goes to get out of bed. She then makes her way over to the bathroom and flicks the light on, looking herself over in the mirror to check for anything that may be amiss. Marie has to do a double take upon seeing herself, stepping closer to the mirror to make sure she isn't just seeing things, sure enough she's able to confirm… she's covered in hickies. From her neck, all down her shoulders, and even on her… oh my. Marie was a little shocked, she hadn't realised just how intense things truly got between her and Jay… and also that Jay seemed quite content taking the lead once she wasn't nervous anymore. Marie couldn't help but smile and blush at how Jay had gone from so nervous and reserved to so confident and forward once she'd been given a bit of reassurance that Marie was more than happy to be spending time with her.

Marie sighs and giggles a little, Jay really was the girl for her after all. She was everything Marie could've hoped for. From how she made her smile, to how she made her laugh… to how she made her moan. Marie felt very lucky indeed that Jay shared the feelings Marie herself helf. But right now, there's another issue at hand, she needs to get dressed, lest her body entice Jay into wanting another go. Not that Marie would complain about that, she just has a tour to prepare for so she has to get back to hers and Callie's apartment at some point. Marie realizes that she could offer Jay the chance to come with them now! After an evening like that, Marie feels like she has to repay Jay for how amazing it all was. Besides, Jay had done the most difficult part, asking her out, Marie just wants to make sure Jay sees it as worth it.

Marie had to get dressed now, she couldn't keep stalling like this. Getting dressed was usually something she wouldn't think much of, but right now, she had a brilliant idea in her head, and it made her blush and smirk a little. She walks over to Jay's wardrobe, making sure the Inkling was still asleep, and slowly but surely she digs through to find something appropriate to wear. She has to blush as she sees a handful of "Team Marie" shirts hanging on clothes hangers. Jay hadn't been in Inkopolis during the Callie vs Marie Final Splatfest, so that means she'd gone out of her way to obtain these. Marie was flattered. Normally a partner that already had your face printed on t-shirts prior to starting dating would be a big red flag, but these were publicly available for a while, so really, Jay was just showing her support and admiration for Marie by going out of her way to ensure she has at least a few of them!

Marie settles on a simple t-shirt with a graphic of a super sea snail on it, and a pair of bicycle shorts. Sure it's not a flattering look, but they're Jay's clothes, so this is basically top tier flirting. Something she found interesting was the fact that she herself was the first one awake. Usually Callie was up by like six in the morning, and then she didn't get up until closer to ten or noon unless she HAD to be up early. Marie takes a glance at the clock, sure enough it read 11:37am. Well, there's something her and Jay also had in common then, night owls that love sleeping in. This also meant that they'd likely have the livingroom to themselves at her and Callie's apartment, since Callie often went to bed early. Though they wouldn't get TOO spicy there, not while Callie was home anyways.

Marie heads into the kitchen, she wasn't a master chef or anything, but she could make a mean pancake. Or did Callie say the pancake was being mean to her stomach? Eh, doesn't matter, she's not gonna make pancakes. She's gonna raid Jay's fridge and pantry and make sure she has everything she needs to stay healthy, and also some snacks. Basically Marie wanted to make sure Jay was taking care of herself, she was already worried about the girl, but now she could actually do something about those worries, unlike before when she'd just watch her amble into certain doom equipped with nothing but a hero shot. Marie was sure Jay was capable of taking care of herself, she'd been quite reliable as an agent after all, surely that must translate to her living as well.

Marie was… sort of right.

She looked through Jay's cupboards and fridge and quickly found one thing that was certain… Jay was the embodiment of chaos. Or at least, organized chaos. She could tell things were placed with purpose, some things had a spot that was used for them so often there was a "that thing" shaped wear pattern in the area it sat in. But Marie was more than a little shocked. Jay's wardrobe and room as a whole were much more put together than the kitchen, but then again, Jay probably spends more time in there than she does in the kitchen. The way everything was placed made sense for a "I need to grab something quick and I don't care if it's squished or not." Kind of thought process. Which Marie supposed she couldn't fault Jay for, but she absolutely WOULD pester her about it. She had to, especially now that they were dating!

After taking inventory of Jay's kitchen, Marie finally decides to actually try making something so when Jay wakes up they can have food together. Marie decides to try her hand at french toast. There were plenty of ingredients available, and Marie had a recipe pulled up on her phone, she could do this! She just had to believe in herself, and hope that the forces of the universe didn't plot against her. Much to her surprise, things start out really well! The batter gets mixed together without a mess, the pan preheats without catching fire, and the bread doesn't spontaneously turn to dust! Then, when it came time to cook them, Marie managed to somehow not turn the french toast into charred remains! They're a little dark but they're not burnt!

"Hell yeah! I got this!" Marie smiles, proud of herself for doing this correctly. Breakfast foods were never her strong suit because… she was almost never awake in time FOR breakfast, and any time she was, she would be going on tour and would just grab something at the airport. So this was a fun change of pace for her! She piles up the french toast, smiling wide and dancing a little as she finishes up cooking.

Jay awakes to… the smell of french toast? That was odd, she never woke up to the smell of food, she lived alone after all! But when her eyes open, and she sees the covers pushed off from one side of the bed, and a little indentation on the mattress… She remembers everything, and then smiles and blushes. She was happy things had gone so well, hoping that this meant she and Marie could actually be… a thing! So now, Jay gets out of bed, donning a random shirt and a pair of shorts to make herself decent, and she leaves the bedroom with a dorky smile on her face as she sniffs the air for the scent of the french toast.

"Mmm! That smells delicious Marie!" Jay comes up behind her and gives her a hug, kissing her neck softly. Marie blushes and squeaks a little in response, Jay not quite noticing Marie's attire. Jay then leans up and kisses Marie's cheek as well, smiling at her partner. "Though not as delicious as you, I think."

Marie blushes and giggles, rolling her eyes at Jay's compliment. She turns to face her properly, showing Jay that she's wearing _her_ shirt and shorts right now. Jay, upon noticing this, has to take a moment to blush hard. Marie giggles after having taken some control back from the girl, leaning up and pecking her lips softly.

"You're cute, you know that? Now, let's eat, I'm not ready for our date to end just yet." Marie smiles warmly, pecking Jay on the lips one more time, before turning to the food and carrying it to the table along with a couple plates and other silverware for them. Marie was telling the truth, she DIDN'T want this date to end at all! Jay had shown her such a good time so far, and she was very eager to keep the good times rolling. Jay wants to be helpful so she gets the syrup out of the fridge, garnering a weird look from Marie, but it's how her family did it, and she's not gonna change family things!

"Thank you Marie, you didn't have to do this." Jay smiles, sitting at the table excited for her meal. While yes, she did just say Marie didn't have to do this, she wasn't gonna deny that she's very happy she did. Jay rarely eats when she wakes up, she usually grabs something very small and then heads out the door. But with Marie here, that meant she didn't have to rush, she could take her time, and she could enjoy the company of the girl she had been crushing on for so long.

"True, but I wanted to! Especially after you showed me such a wonderful time last night! Both before and… after… we got back to your apartment." Marie giggles and blushes, causing Jay to do the same. Marie didn't seem to mind the love marks on her neck and shoulders right now, but she's sure they'll be covered up at the very least for the upcoming tour. Probably even before she goes back to the apartment she shares with Callie too, just so there aren't any awkward questions regarding the marks that Jay had left on her _girlfriend's_ body.

"Heh, glad you seem to have enjoyed it as much as I did!" Jay giggles, blushing like a dork and smiling wide. Soon after, they're both digging in to the food. Marie surprised herself with how good said food was, it was astonishingly delicious! Jay also seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit, was she moaning? Yes she was, she absolutely was. Marie considered herself an expert on Jay moans now, and the girl was absolutely moaning from the taste of the food. This first date had gone so incredibly well, there was no way either of them would forget it anytime soon, especially since their relationship was only just getting started.


	38. 8-5 Bigger fish to fry

Jay and Marie had planned to head back to Marie's apartment after having "breakfast" since Marie did have to start getting ready for the tour, and Jay was going to need time to pack as well, though Marie still hadn't dropped that she planned to bring Jay along. Marie kept waiting for the right moment, then resigned that it would either happen when Jay dropped her off at her apartment, or she could do it over text since then it could link to digital tickets that Jay could keep on her phone. They had a lot that they needed to get done so they needed as much of the day as they could get, they couldn't afford to get lost in each other's eyes right now, they'll have plenty of time for that later.

So the date wound up lasting until the next evening, and the sun was now setting over the horizon. Jay and Marie just didn't want to stop being in each other's company. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. Marie and Callie have a tour coming up soon, and Marie needs to prepare for it. Jay insisted on walking Marie home though, partially because she wanted to spend more time with her, and partially because she actually just wanted to go for a walk anyways, she loves fresh air. Marie and Jay walked hand in hand, slowly towards Marie's apartment which she still shares with Callie. Jay had been there all of twice before, once when Marie left her phone in Octo Canyon and Jay needed to bring it back to her, and another time when Callie did the same thing. Jay wonders if maybe Callie had done it just to get Jay over to the apartment because she's pretty sure Callie has been on to both of their feelings for a long time now.

"This was really nice, we should do this again." Jay comments, blushing and smiling cutely. She glances between Marie and the setting sun in the distance, something about the way the evening gave way to night made her calm. Marie giggles and gives Jay's hand a soft squeeze, followed by a tender smile and a kiss on the cheek.

"We absolutely will! I mean, you're my girlfriend now after all!" Marie smiles softly and blushes herself, it sounded so nice to finally be able to call Jay her girlfriend. She'd been toying with the idea of it in her mind for so long it almost didn't seem real, she kept thinking that at any moment she was going to wake up and the entire thing won't have happened. But that moment never came, and Jay was still smiling and holding her hand. Marie felt lucky, she felt like maybe things might get better now. Alex and Kiaria had been through enough bullshit for more than their entire lifetimes, between both of their Kamabo experiences, to Alex's scar, to Kiaria's memory issues, they'd been through enough. From what Marie heard, Jay had some issues in the early days too, namely with her biological mother, but evidently she'd not been heard from in years, and Jay seemed very happy about that.

"Geez, hearing you call me your girlfriend… it's nice, I didn't think I'd ever hear you say it, and yet you did! And I get to say it too! You're MY girlfriend!" Jay giggles and blushes, squeezing Marie's hand this time. They both stare into each other's eyes and smile, giggling occasionally as they walk. Then they stop walking, finding a park bench to sit at for a while, not quite wanting the evening to come to an end. Jay leans in close and Marie leans the rest of the way, their lips meeting once again as they both coo and hold each other's cheeks.

After a few moments, the kiss is broken, and the two squids just lovingly look into each other's eyes, holding each other's cheeks. The sun was slowly setting behind them, Jay knew she was going to end up walking home in the dark, but she didn't mind, she'd rather spend this time with Marie. Besides, she's an AGENT after all, she can take care of herself. Marie didn't like the idea of Jay being by herself outside after dark, Jay was plenty reckless during missions, but she knows she can handle herself, she's proven competent many times, including the time she somehow hit a graplink while falling through the air without even looking. She proved it wasn't a fluke by doing it three more times in a row because she would then miss the easy jump and need to re-spawn. So instead, Marie simply decides to enjoy this. She wants to enjoy this moment of being intimate with her girlfriend before she has to go home and do her pop star job.

"Today and yesterday have been nothing short of magical, between you saying "yes" when I asked you out, to everything that's transpired since… it's all just a dream come true. You know I never told you this but… part of the reason I followed you into that questionable sewer grate all those years ago was because I wanted to know why someone so beautiful as you was heading down a place like that. I had to know for myself what was up." Jay chuckles and rubs her neck awkwardly, admitting that she has basically had a little crush on Marie since before they even met.

"Oh, so THAT'S why you had such a confused look on your face when you came through!" Marie giggles and kisses Jay's cheek softly. Marie has to admit, she didn't think too much of Jay when they'd first met. Sure she thought the squid was cute, but her mind was absolutely not on the attractiveness of the squid in question, she was more interested in getting Callie back from Octavio. But then, once Marie could appreciate the agent a little more, she found she admired more than her can-do attitude and her overwhelming determination. Marie was definitely admiring her other… assets… once the dust settled and Callie was freed.

"Heh, I'd been in Inkopolis for maybe two days, hadn't even done a single battle yet, and I found myself following an Inkling I don't know down into a sewer. If it hadn't worked out so well I'm sure Alex would've thwaped me upside the head." Jay chuckles softly, thinking about her cousin, and how much she cared about her, and how much the opposite is true as well. She really hopes she recovers quickly, she deserves to be happy.

"She doesn't have much ground to stand on there, since that's exactly how SHE became an agent too. Except it was gramps that recruited her. I can't remember if he told her about the Octarians _before_ or _after_ she jumped down the sewer grate in Inkopolis Plaza, but either way, she still followed him." Marie chuckles, thinking about how absurd their recruitment strategies seem to be, and yet how effective they also are. Jay and Alex were both very capable in their own right, it makes sense that they were raised together.

Jay snorts, trying to contain a laugh. She knew there was a reason Alex hadn't told her the whole story of HOW she became an agent. There was always the little detail left out about HOW she became one, and there it was. Marie giggles a little which doesn't help Jay trying to stifle her laugh, but after a few moments, they both give up holding it back and just laugh loudly, not caring what anyone else thinks, they're having fun!

"Oh my GODS! Dammit Alex!" Jay snorts and laughs hard again, causing Marie to also laugh just as hard, they couldn't help it! They'd been having so much fun together that anything that got them giggling would KEEP them giggling for quite a while. But eventually, it starts getting dark, and the streetlights come on, and both Jay and Marie realize it's time to say goodnight, at least for now.

"Ah, I should really be getting home… I need to start getting ready for this tour and… hey wait! I have an idea! How about you come with us!" Marie beams, suddenly feeling very excited about this Tour which she'd previously only felt like she HAD to do. But now it was a chance to share the experience with Jay! Okay she'd been planning to do this for ages by now but she's trying to make it seem like a spur of the moment thing with her excitement.

"C-Come with you?! Like, as in, be with you while you're on tour?!" Jay blushes hard, feeling more than a little excited. She'd been able to go to a couple concerts here and there, but to go with her on tour?! That sounds amazing! This deal is very fair and she's happy to be a part of it. "I would love to!"

"Great! We'll get you backstage passes to every show, and your own hotel room in every city… Well, I say _your,_ but you know." Marie winks and pecks Jay on the lips quickly, hinting that while Jay will be the only one officially registered to stay in that hotel room, she might have a visitor quite often. She was very happy about this idea, she couldn't wait to execute it! "But unfortunately, I have to get home… care to walk me the rest of the way?"

"Oh, I would love to!" Jay gets up and helps Marie stand as well, sneaking a smooch once she's standing, the both of them giggling more and heading back to Marie's place of residence. They walk hand in hand once more, smiling happily. Once they arrive Marie kisses Jay tenderly one final time, bidding the Inkling farewell and heading inside, leaving Jay to head home.

"I should be sad about having to say goodbye, but, I'm just too excited!" Jay says to herself as she excitedly starts heading home, she has to pack now after all! This was going to be a remarkable experience, she'd only done a little bit of travelling, it was going to be so much fun! Plus, more time spent with Marie! She expects that they'll probably do a lot of cuddling and watching TV since she's going to be so spent from the concerts.

Jay walks quickly, passing by Inkopolis lake. She has to stop to look out at it, normally it's still this time of night, but now it's got some strange ripples in the distance. She considers investigating, but all she has is a single dualie tucked away under her jacket, and no ink tank to speak of. Really it's just an emergency thing too, she couldn't really splat anyone with it, she'd get maybe four shots before having no ink to shoot left without an ink tank. Jay sighs, assuming it's probably nothing, and even if it is something, she's not equipped to deal with it anyways.

As Jay walks she notices something else strange, a little thin trail. It looks like ink, but it smells like swamp. Actually, now that she thinks about it, it smells an awful lot like the Salmonid areas she's been sent to on her handful of shifts at Grizzco. Freelance work there could be quite lucrative if a bit sketchy. She pulls the dualie out from under her jacket and follows the trail, finding it leads behind one of the benches. Rounding the bench she spots a Smallfry, but it looks like it picked up a metal fork somewhere instead of their usual plastic spoons. Upon seeing Jay, the smallfry immediately charges at her and screams in rage. It sounds like someone took a war cry and made it really high pitched and quiet. Jay steps back, reluctantly pointing her dualie at the Smallfry and pulling the trigger, letting a few shots of ink come out, splatting the little Salmonid and the tiny fork it was holding clangs against the ground since its owner is no longer present.

"Okay that was weird, don't think I've ever seen salmons inside of Inkopolis before… then again, I'm not out this late usually, maybe that's it?" Jay tries rationalizing, but she knows she's rationalizing, and she quickly shakes her head. "I'll inform Sheldon, he can check up on Inkopolis's defenses and make sure there's no holes."

Jay then puts the dualie back under her jacket, and heads the rest of the way home. Her head is on a swivel the rest of the way, she knows Salmonids rarely travel in such small groups, there's always a bigger fish. She was ready to grab her dualie and fire it at a moment's notice, just in case there were any bigger fish to fry, but as she got back to her apartment, no such fish crossed her path. She was calm once she got inside, but she felt much more tired once she was home than she had anticipated. Something about being ambushed by a fish the size of her foot.

"This better not become a thing, too much has happened, we just need a break." Jay says to herself as she makes her way to her bedroom. She'd pack in the morning, right now she just wanted to pass out. She'd figure out what was going on and why there were Salmons in Inkopolis another day, right now she was just going to sleep.


	39. 9-1 The Armory

Jay had a mission. A very simple but very important mission. Tell Sheldon that she saw a salmonid in Inkopolis. She meant to do it before she went on the tour with Callie and Marie but she forgot, and she doesn't have Sheldon's number. Well she used to but he send her one too many walls of text and she wound up blocking him. So now she has to go all the way to Ammoknights on a saturday, all the way to Ammoknights! Okay it was for a good reason though. Jay hoped it wouldn't take too long, she was planning to meet up with Alex and Kiaria so they could go bowling since Alex was finally able to walk again and wanted to try normal things, also so they could all catch up and just spend time together like friends do. Finally she arrives, and pushes her way into the building.

"Hey Sheldon, you got a sec to talk? There's something I saw that I think you'll want to know about." Jay says as she enters, Sheldon had just finished kitting out an Inkling with their first new weapon, level 4s were so cute like that, so excited to run into battle with their shiny new toy. Jay remembers when that was her, she giggles a little at the memory. The inkling rushes out with excitement, still wearing the white headband and cream basics, must have had their heart set on the new weapon first. Now that his business transaction is complete, Sheldon turns his attention to the agent that has just entered his place of business.

"Ah! Agent Four! Welcome, it's good to see you again! I haven't seen you in my store since you bought up the rest of the weapons on the catalogue, you really had to make sure you had ALL of them. Can't say I blame you though, plenty of Squids and Octos love getting kitted out and having as many options as possible! Now you said there was something you saw that you wanted to talk to me about, and I would be remiss if I didn't consider the concerns of one of the Squidbeak Splatoon's finest agents! Though to be fair there also aren't that MANY agents of the Splatoon so I'm not really sure there's much distinction to be made in terms of your individual skill levels since you're all quite capable-"

"SHELDON!" Jay shouts, to get him to just _stop fucking talking for five fucking seconds_. Jay had forgotten just how talkative Sheldon could be, she hadn't had to interact directly with him for some time. She just couldn't believe how LONG he could talk for, if she hadn't interrupted her she could've wound up not being able to meet with her league team afterwards like she planned to. They didn't have any BIG plans, just gonna go over a couple strategies before Jay had to run to meet Alex and Kiaria. But fortunately, Jay isn't above interrupting the weaponsmith. In fact she's prepared to do it again should he start running his mouth a second time.

"R-Right, sorry, important thing, I will try and refrain from talking your ear off." Sheldon blushes a little, he was truly trying to get better at not just bombarding his co-workers and customers with more words than they can stand, bad for business and bad for morale. He gives Jay a smile and plops on a nearby seat, offering one to her as well. "Talk to me, what's got you so concerned that you'd come into Ammoknights instead of bringing it to Marie or Callie to deliver to me?"

"Well… It's… the Salmonids" Jay was hoping that Sheldon would scoff, she was hoping Sheldon would laugh, she was hoping Sheldon would brush off the thought and simply say there was nothing to worry about and that it was more than under control. Sheldon's demeanor darkened and he sighs softly. This was not the reaction Jay hoped for, and all it did was make her that much more anxious. She scoots forwards on her seat a little, wanting to hear his next words as clearly as she possibly can.

"The salmonid situation is… complicated." Sheldon leans towards a shelf and pulls one of his notebooks off of it and starts flipping through the pages. Many sketches of Salmonids, as well as what look to be reports from Inklings and Octolings who had done Salmon Run shifts and had first hand experience with them. "A year or so ago, they were of no concern really… they were far enough away from Inkopolis not to even think about, plus with Grizzco in operation, the Salmonids weren't able to migrate further than they already had… but something happened in the past year that changed that."

"What happened?" Jay looks worried, she really didn't know what to say in this moment, she just really hoped that Sheldon had some kind of answer for the problem, like he was working on a super weapon to defeat them, and the only thing he needed was time to complete it… surely worst case the Splatoon could BUY him some time to finish such a weapon… right?

"Some of them got bold. Started attacking Grizzco boats, stowing away… kidnapping Inklings and Octolings to try and evolve… of course that didn't work since Grizzco is equally as equipped, if not moreso, than the Splatoon… so they were able to get them back, and fend off the stowaways… but the fact is, for a time, Grizzco had to keep its doors closed while they sorted out the issues… a couple months may not seem like much, but it allowed the Salmonids to get closer… the sea levels are falling again, more land becoming available… but not enough… the Salmons want it all for themselves." Sheldon sighs again, looking down at his notepad, then over to another one, his grandfather's notepad, from the Great Turf War.

"What are you saying Sheldon?" Jay asks softly, trying not to sound worried but failing miserably because of how concerned she is. She just wants some answers and she hasn't even told him what she saw yet, but surely it won't be good when she does given how he's reacting now. She's worried that maybe it's too late and all hope is already lost… but surely that can't be true, there's no way they've reached the point of no return already.

"I fear… the 'Last Great Turf War' is going to become… 'Great Turf War One'. Because we're going to have to defend our homeland from an army of Salmonids… an army that is quite familiar with fighting Inklings and Octolings no less… I've been working on creating weapons to fight the salmons more effectively, but Mr. Grizz is stubborn, only wants to use HIS weapons… so most of my weapons are only theoretical…" Sheldon flips through his notes more, trying to see if he can find anything useful.

"Sheldon.. I think… I really need to tell you what I saw then… I think I should've told you a while ago now actually." Jay feels bad about not bringing this up sooner, but at the time she had JUST started dating her long time crush, forgive her for having her mind elsewhere at the time. But now is not the time for regrets, now is the time for action. Jay wastes no time, taking a deep breath and just saying what she needs to say before her nerves get the better of her. "I saw a Salmonid… IN Inkopolis park… it was just a Smallfry, and it was by itself… but I saw it. I SPLATTED it when it tried attacking me…"

"...Oh dear… the threat is much closer than I realized. You said just the one? That's actually good, means we might have enough time to prepare… Jay, thank you for telling me, I will relay this information with my contacts in Inkopolis security, we will do everything we can to prevent it from becoming a full scale invasion… but, Jay, as an Agent of the Splatoon… be ready to fight if we need you." Sheldon sighs and puts his notebooks back on the shelf, but he does give Jay a soft smile as well, trying to reassure her.

"Always will be Sheldon. Just… Why now? Why of all times would they be in Inkopolis NOW?" Jay asks, wanting to understand what could possibly have the salmons attacking the city now rather than sooner. Grizzco had reopened ages ago and was operating as normal, so she wondered what it was that was letting them into the city.

"...I have a theory, and it's not a nice one, but it IS one I've had for quite some time… it's… the destruction of Kamabo. While they did a ton of harm to any Inklings or Octolings or even Octarians that fell in, they also did a lot of GOOD in terms of keeping the Salmonids at bay, since any that got too close were simply shot down by sanitized Octo Snipers… without Kamabo in place, that's a gaping hole that Salmonids can now just swim right through."

"Shit… Alex and Kiaria aren't going to like that at all." Jay scoffs, angry that the place that had caused so much pain and suffering for her family could've possibly been part of keeping her new home safe. It wasn't worth the tradeoff in her mind, she'd rather have to fight to defend her new home than have had her family hurt… but now she has to do both.

"Yes, precisely why I would like to keep that little tidbit out of their ears for as long as possible, at least until they've had some time to recover mentally from the ordeals they've faced. Which brings me to one more thing, if you could speak with Kiaria and get her to come in it would be very much appreciated, I've been working on some experimental armor, it has ink jets built into wrist canons to create a brella-like blast of ink from each wrist, but it can be shifted to fire like a blaster instead as well! It should be highly resistant to all forms of ink as well… but the unfortunate thing is, it's based on Null Armor that she salvaged from Kamabo, which means it currently only fits HER body. Hopefully I can fabricate something less rigid in the future for use as Hero gear for the entire Splatoon, but for now I just need her to come in so I can test the prototype!"

"Huh, I am not going to remember a single detail about what you just said but I'll be sure to tell Kiaria you wanna see her! Is uhm… is there anything else I can do to help right now Sheldon? Anything at all to help prepare for facing the Salmonids?" Jay stands to get ready to leave, but she still looks at him and waits for him to confirm that he's said everything he needs to say before she leaves.

"No, no… for now, just keep living your life. If things go well, you likely won't even need to think about this anymore. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, hopefully this will all be a soon forgotten memory. Now go, I know you must have other plans today, I will keep doing what I can to keep Inkopolis safe." Sheldon smiles and nods, giving her the okay to leave.

"Thank you Sheldon… for everything…" With that, Jay turns and leaves the store. She isn't entirely sure how to feel about what happened, about what she learned. But what she DOES know, is that she's goddamn Agent Four of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, she isn't going to let some stupid fish take over HER home. Especially because it holds her new friends, her new family, and a little of her old family as well. Speaking of new friends, she sees her team sitting at a table near Crusty Sean's food truck. She pushes down her worries and goes to greet them, Jessie, Allie, and Malina, her team, and her friends.


	40. 9-2 I wanted to go bowling

Alex and Kiaria got a text from Jay, her "quick meeting" with her team was running far longer than expected. Jay just asked them to meet her in Inkopolis square and hopefully them being there would be enough to yoink her away so they could actually do the things they planned to, like bowling. Now to be fair, Jay loved her team, they were like her extended family! But she also had an obligation to her actual family. That being her cousin and her cousin's fiance. That was something Jay was very excited about as well, ever since hearing that Alex was planning to propose she's been doing everything in her power not to spill the beans. Wait what was going on? Oh yeah Jessie was going over strategy. For being a shy Octoling, she was surprisingly talkative and energetic once she was comfortable.

"Okay so if they take the tower and you've got your special charged, hold on to it until we can make a push, alright Malina? We don't want a repeat of last time" Jessie says as she glares at Malina and then the both of them chuckle softly, rolling their eyes at their own antics. "But actually though, if we're all splatted, fall back until we respawn. We're stronger as a unit. This isn't like Rainmaker. When Rainmaker was the tournament mode it was all just grab and run, but this requires more strategic thinking."

"Jay, I still can't believe you went from the Clash Blaster, arguably the most overpowered weapon for Tower Control, and are now just using the Kensa Pro. Like yeah it's got some good power but really?" Malina chuckles and playfully nudges Jay's shoulder with her fist, Jay chuckling as well and rubbing the spot where Malina had nudged her.

"I wasn't having fun with the Clash! Isn't that part of why we're doing this too? To have fun? Well I have more fun playing with the Kensa Splattershot Pro than I was having with the Clash Blaster." Jay shrugs, not really sure what else to say about it. She really did enjoy the Kensa Pro more than the Clash, she found she got more splats with it too which is always satisfying. She did have to learn a bit about aiming to be really good with it but it worked out in the end since she has so much better range with the weapon than she did before with her old one.

The group banters back and forth a little more, poking fun at each other's weapon choices while also laughing and smiling. They're good friends so they'd never actually be upset over a weapon choice, unless that choice was actively hurting the team. However even then they'd probably lean towards wanting to help that person get better with the weapon and offering to help them practice with it. However before they can get very far with said banter, an Octoling with a ponytail, and an Inkling with an interesting scar over her right eye begin approaching the group. Jay gives the two a smile and a wave, planning to introduce them to her team, but unexpectedly, Jessie stands quickly upon seeing them, and bows to the Octoling that approaches.

"C-Captain Ida!" Jessie says while remaining in the bow. Everyone else at the table exchanges a confused glance in response to this since they'd never seen Jessie do anything like this before. Then again, she'd also never met Kiaria before so that is likely the exact reason why.

"At ease." Kiaria says with a smile, gesturing for the other Octoling to rise. She was happy to know someone who recognized her had made it to the surface safely, she had always been worried about what had happened to those who'd followed her into the rebellion. "I haven't been 'Captain' for quite some time now, but it's always good to see a familiar face on the surface, what's your name, soldier?"

"J-Jessie Ma'am! Jessie Lamonds. I was under your command when the Calamari Inkantation was performed, and I followed you into the rebellion." Jessie may have been given an 'At ease', but she was still standing straight when addressing Kiaria, there was a level of respect and possibly admiration there as well. It's easy to tell that Jessie thought highly of Kiaria.

"Ah yes I remember! I see you've grown your tentacles out a little as well since then, probably why I didn't immediately recognize you. You and Takeshi were integral to us having any hope of success… speaking of Takeshi, do you know what happened to him? Last I remember I ordered him to evacuate and then I got captured." Kiaria asks with a look of worry, only she does a good job of hiding it so only Alex and Jessie are able to pick up on it. Alex is able to notice because she knows Kiaria so well that she can tell when her lover is upset by something, and Jessie can tell because it's a similar look to what Kiaria would have any time the rebels were under siege and needed to evacuate.

"Unfortunately I do not know… the rebels were scattered a bit after your capture, but we did our best. I think I heard he was trying to unite the factions but my group was small and we made a break for the surface when the chance arose." Jessie looks down a little, almost like she's ashamed of herself for abandoning the rebellion, even though it seems Kiaria won't be upset by it. Jessie has wrestled with that thought for a while, what might've happened had she stayed? She'll never know will she?

"Well, it's good to know you're safe. Octavio is… likely not going to be an issue if the intel I have is anything to go off, so I don't think there's much to worry about anymore since the loyalists won't actually have him actively controlling their minds with the hypnosis." Kiaria smiles and puts her hand on Jessie's shoulder to reassure her, Jessie looks up and smiles softly, feeling relaxed and put at ease with her choices.

Jay clears her throat in a not so subtle way, which results in Jessie and Kiaria realizing they'd completely forgotten about the entire reason they were here and they both blushed sheepishly, Jessie a little harder than Kiaria however. Alex had gone and grabbed a couple seats for herself and for Kiaria already however, so they were all able to take a seat and actually talk like normal people now.

"S-Sorry about that." Jessie blushes a little as she brushes the large tentacle out of her face, allowing her to properly see everyone in the group again. She could easily get that tentacle trimmed down but she likes having it so large, it's something that's uniquely hers.

"Don't worry about it, now! Introductions!" Jay smiles, clapping her hands together and getting the attention of everyone around her. Then she smirks as she points at her cousin and her cousin's fiance. "This is my cousin Alex, and her smooch partner Kiaria."

"JAY!" Alex blushes fiercely and shoots her cousin a death glare, prompting both Jay and Kiaria to giggle in response. Alex crosses her arms and frowns, she's not actually upset but she's playing it up because of how dramatic her instinctual reaction was.

"Don't let her work you up Lexie, she's just trying to be funny." Kiaria smiles and kisses Alex's cheek, allowing the Inkling to calm down a little. Alex takes a deep breath, closing her eyes as she does to allow it to calm her entire body.

"Y-Yeah, you're right Kia, thanks." Alex smiles back at Kiaria, the Octoling rubbing her lover's head a little to drive home the point that she's okay. Alex has been a little more on edge recently and Kiaria has been doing her best to make sure to help her realize everything's okay and she's not in danger anymore. It's a process but it's worth it for her love.

"Wait wait wait… I'm sorry but… **LEXIE?!**" Jay interjects, a little dumbfounded at the nickname that Kiaria has given Alex. Also with a little snicker as well because she herself never even called Alex that, and they grew up together! Though that could easily be a good thing too, since it means it's something that's unique for Kiaria to refer to her as.

"We're getting off topic." Alex interrupts before any further questions can be asked or answered, turning the focus of the group back to the original intent, they'd gotten sidetracked again somehow. "Alright Jay, you were going to introduce us to your team and then we were going to head out."

"Right! Right of course! Alright well… apparently Eigh- I mean… Kiaria… you know Jessie already." Jay points at the Octoling with a large tentacle hanging in front of her face and a somewhat similar ponytail to Kiaria's own poking out the back of her head. The Octoling in question waves at Kiaria and Alex upon attention being drawn to her, smiling softly and trying not to cause another scene.

"H-Hi! Uhm…" Jessie looks at Alex with weary eyes, almost like she's not sure if she should trust her. But her old captain seems to… that should be good enough for her, but her weariness has kept her from harm more than once. She was ready to make a move at a moment's notice if need be.

"This here's Malina! She's deadly with a roller, and lethal with everything else too!" Jay states proudly as she points over to the other Octoling on her team, she's got a more basic tentacle style, just a little longer. No ponytail or any single tentacle that's larger than the rest. She rocks the look though, making it her own with a yellow to magenta gradient that you wouldn't think would work, and yet it totally does.

"Hey! Nice to meet you!" Malina gives a little salute wave, she wasn't part of the rebels and Kiaria can confirm that just by looking at her, but, she did also defect from Octavio's forces and come to the surface, and really that's all the Rebels hoped to achieve anyways.

"And finally, we have Allie!" Jay smiles while pointing at the only other Inkling in the group aside from herself. Only to find said Inkling has fallen asleep. "Oh, oh dear… Malina did you keep her up all night again?"

"Wh-What no of course not!" Malina looks offended by the accusation, but a simple eyebrow raise from Jau changes her tone completely. "Y-Yeah… I kept texting her… b-but! She texted me first! I just didn't realize what time it was!"

Jay just sighs and facepalms, prompting Alex and Kiaria to giggle a little. Malina is blushing and Jessie is covering her mouth to stifle her own giggles as well. Jay really can't believe how completely wrong this entire meeting has gone, and yet it's going about exactly as perfectly as she could have possibly hoped for too.

"You know what? This is fine, this is fine… it works out actually, because Kiaria, Alex, and I… well we're all supposed to be heading out anyways. In fact we probably should've left by now anyways." Jay rationalizes, trying to make light of the situation despite how royally fucked up it is compared to how it was supposed to go.

"We should be going yeah… we might have to change our plans a bit too since I think the bowling alley is gonna be a bit packed now." Alex says as she holds up her phone, Squitter was open and there was a post about spotting the Squid Sisters at said bowling alley.

"Awe man, I wanted to go bowling!" Jay complains, but she stands and grabs her bag, signalling Kiaria and Alex to do the same. Surely they'll come up with an idea for something to do together somehow. Hopefully one that doesn't involve obscenely large crowds. "Alright, I'll see you guys next sunday for Practice!"

Jay waves her team goodbye, and then heads off with Alex and Kiaria, probably back to their apartment to play video games since it's a classic fallback that never gets old. Alex and Kiaria hold hands as they walk, Jay just puts her hands in her pockets. The awake members of Jay's team eye the three of them as they walk away until they're out of sight.


	41. 9-3 Sometimes

Kiaria and Alex wave Jay goodbye as she leaves, having already given her a goodbye hug as well. Alex smiles and puts her arm around Kiaria's waist, watching her cousin walk off to the end of the hall, and finally into the elevator. Once they couldn't see her anymore, they closed the door to the apartment, locking it behind them, and heading back over to the couch where they sit together and just relax after an eventful day. Jay had somewhat gotten her wish, Alex had a video game that had a bowling mode, so at least she could PRETEND she was doing the thing she wanted to.

"That was fun, it's always good to see Jay… and I'm glad she's doing well." Alex says as she leans her head onto Kiaria's shoulder, ignoring the fact that her severed tentacle is drooping over her face now. Kiaria notices Alex's damaged tentacle flopping over into her field of view and brushes the short length of tentacle behind her lover's ear, allowing it to be out of sight and out of mind.

"Yeah, it was nice of her to give up time with her team for you. I could really tell you needed more time with your family as well, I'm glad she's around for when I'm not able to be with you." Kiaria turns her head and smiles at Alex, leaning down and kissing her Inkling partner's head softly, putting her arm over her shoulder as well and pulling her closer. She took great comfort in knowing her lover was so loved, that she was surrounded by people who cared about her, and that above all, she was receptive to that love. Alex was blessed, and Kiaria was overjoyed that her partner had such a support network, especially because she needs it right now and is able to draw on it.

"Yeah, she and I were pretty inseparable when we were kids. We supported each other. It was a little hard saying goodbye when I moved away, but she was still so excited for me… I can't believe we both wound up in the Splatoon though, like what are the odds of that happening?" Alex chuckles as she reminisces about her past with her cousin and the various shenanigans they used to get into together. She'd been so focused on her developing relationship with Kiaria after escaping Kamabo that she hadn't given enough attention to her cousin. She's glad that her partner knows the value of family, she's glad she's able to rebuild a proper connection with her cousin.

"I can tell by the way you two talk, it's like no time has actually passed for you two. You just catch up, then pick right back up where you left off. I'm a little jealous to be honest, Marina and I still struggle to even begin talking about our past. Though to be fair, we also had vastly different experiences than you and Jay had growing up." Kiaria comments as she reminisces about her own past, how her experiences were so dramatically unique to her, and yet she'd found the more she talked with those around her, the more she would realize that a lot of them understood her pain. Octolings were unfortunately not granted the same luxuries as the Inklings were growing up. Kiaria remembers being indoctrinated at a young age, being lead to believe Octavio was a benevolent leader, and that he would always want what's best for her. Then she was Hypnotized to ensure that thought process stuck in place.

"Yeah I suppose. But with you and Marina, there's the whole… "you not having your memories" part. That is bound to throw a wrench into things. I mean, if I had gone through an event that had made me straight up FORGET Jay was family, that would make things super awkward when I realized the truth. So maybe you just need to give it more time… time for that "Awkward truth" to settle down." Alex smiles softly, leaning over and kissing Kiaria on the cheek to try and comfort her partner. She doesn't know exactly what she's going through, but she does understand the pain of not being able to reach out to someone you care about. It's a bit of a balancing act between your own desires, and understanding what is best for the person you care about.

"Yeah I guess… there's also the issue of… I still don't really have the full picture…" Kiaria pauses for a second, looking over at Alex with an expression that conveys she needs to talk about something heavy, something that's weighing on her. But there's also regret involved in her expression. Alex can tell this is something that will be a hard subject for both of them. Kiaria doesn't want to put any undue stress on Alex, but she also knows that Alex wouldn't want her facing this burden on her own. She gives a little hopeful look with her eyes, wanting Alex to allow her to continue.

"If you need to tell me something… tell me." Alex smiles reassuringly and holds Kiaria's hands, rubbing the tops of them with her thumbs. Though her putting her hands in Kiaria's is more for her own sake truthfully. It helps ground her in the moment, so no matter what is brought up, if Alex feels overwhelmed she has something connecting her to right now to recover. It's a trick her therapist taught her, it helps when her anxiety starts getting the better of her.

"Okay… just… hold on one second…" Kiaria says solemnly before getting up and walking to the bedroom, the door is left open to show she isn't hiding anything, though Alex can tell she wants to do this part alone, so she sits and waits patiently. After about a minute, which was filled with rummaging noises from the bedroom, Kiaria returns. She sits down again and holds one of Alex's hands, but her other hand is occupied by something, but Alex can't quite make it out.

"What's that Kia?" Alex tilts her head like a curious puppy, trying to get a better look at the object in her partner's hand. Kiaria is a little hesitant to reveal it, her expression one of pure uncertainty. But after a few moments, she does open her fingers and present the object to Alex for inspection. Alex gasps a little, a noise Kiaria had certainly not expected to hear. "Woah! Where did you get that?"

"I… Well… truthfully, I don't entirely know where it came from originally. But, it was inside of my locker in Kamabo… which I came across during… well you know when." Kiaria's expression is dark as she delivers that revelation, she knows Alex presently has about as much trauma surrounding Kamabo as she herself does, if not more. If nothing else, at least Kiaria's damage can be covered by a shirt. But she doesn't expect Alex's response, she'd been prepared for Alex to start hyperventilating, to panic, something horrific that would confirm that this is something she should figure out on her own, but instead, Alex focuses on the amazement at the object itself, allowing her Kamabo related traumas to be brushed aside for now.

"Oh. Well, maybe we can figure out how you got ahold of it together! But I think you should know something." Alex has a soft smile on her face, she seems excited about the object, almost like she recognizes it, which actually she does. It's something with deep personal significance to her, and she couldn't wait to share why. "This looks a lot like something I was gifted years ago when I was very young! I think it was one of the local craftsmen from back home, they told me it would help guide me to success. I never really bought into that notion, but Jay seemed to. So one day I actually gave it to her, since I figured if she believed it would help her, she might try a little harder to reach that success."

"W-Wait… you're saying this is something from… your past?" Kiaria looks between Alex and the object, the golden object that looks like an oversized cake pop that had the skewer poked through a little too far. She then holds it up where it would sit on Alex's head if she were to wear it, right next to her left eye. She smiles a little and blushes softly. "Heh, if nothing else, it does suit you."

"Oh come on Kia!" Alex blushes hard and playfully pushes Kiaria's arm away, giggling a little shortly after. Then she gets an idea, and sneakily takes the golden toothpick from Kiaria's hand, then quickly pins it up into the band holding the Octoling's tentacles in a ponytail. The giggling faded out and was replaced with a deep blush. "Woah… it REALLY suits you though"

"N-No way!" Kiaria blushes hard as well before quickly taking it out of her ponytail. She didn't feel right wearing it, not yet anyways. It felt too heavy, but not literally. It was light by design. No, it was a mental weight that was associated with it, something she had to overcome, but, she didn't seem to know when or where that trial would come from. "I… don't feel like I should be able to wear it yet, I don't feel like I've earned it."

"What's holding you back? It looks so good on you!" Alex smiles at her lover, trying to comfort her and remind her that her past can't get to her anymore, and also that it's okay to express everything about herself that she likes. But she isn't going to press the issue beyond this, she knows better than to turn something so simple into an argument. She'll do what she can to support her partner, but she won't mindlessly walk into aggression in search of that.

"I'm not sure, not yet… maybe if I like… put it under my pillow or something… maybe then I'll understand" Kiaria keeps inspecting the object in her hand, hoping that the explanation for why she had it would pop out to her, but of course, nothing is ever that easy. She wasn't even certain of her own conclusions about it, it felt like something she should understand but she couldn't quite place it. She felt drawn to it, yet afraid of it, she couldn't put her finger on why this was the case.

"Well if you think that'll work" Alex chuckles softly, holding Kiaria's hand tightly and smiling. The idea of Kiaria putting that object under her pillow while she slept to try and understand it made no sense, but, she understands that she can't seem to understand the object at the moment and is trying desperately to come up with a solution. "If I can do anything to help, just let me know, okay?"

"Of course, thank you Lexie." Kiaria smiles and hugs Alex, who quickly returns the gesture. Kiaria gently strokes the back of Alex's head, and Alex idly plays with the tentacles in Kiaria's ponytail. The tentacles occasionally curl around Alex's fingers causing the Inkling to giggle a little, and then after a few moments, they finally pull back out of the hug.

With that, Kiaria sets the toothpick on the coffee table, shares a quick kiss with Alex's lips, and then the pair of them settle in and turn on the TV. They don't really watch anything specific, just enjoying the content that's provided to them by the various channels they paid for with their cable subscription. They were probably one of the few surviving customers of cable TV, but they enjoyed the ability to just put something on the TV and watch it.

Eventually, Kiaria falls asleep, her head leaned against Alex's shoulder as she softly snored. Alex simply smiles and kisses Kiaria's head, before picking her up and carrying her to the bedroom. She lays her lover down on the bed and tucks her in, and then goes to clean up the living room, folding up the blanket they'd used and putting away the game console they'd been using while Jay was over. Finally, as she was about to head to bed herself, she spots the golden toothpick on the coffee table. She picks it up and inspects it, finding that it is indeed handcrafted, she admires the work that went into shaping and moulding it to get the correct design. She then decides it's better it isn't left on the coffee table and carries it back to the bedroom, setting it down on Kiaria's bedside table, leaning down and kissing her fiance's forehead before walking around to her own side of the bed and climbing in, getting under the covers and closing her eyes to start drifting asleep.


	42. 9-4 Inner Agent 3

"_Ya weni marei mirekyarahire, Juri yu mirekerason, Kire hyari yoriherahe nyurahera, Nunnyura unera yurawera nyimerani"_

The lights fade in, the battlefield awaits, the hero is nearby with her unmatchable traits.

The dust settles as the music plays, a lone Octoling stands, her weapon is raised.

The air grows cold as each believes they are the one, the time is now the battle is begun.

Agent Three leaps down from the platform she stood upon, pulling a splashdown canister off her belt and activating it as she superjumps into battle. Her lone opponent is a single Octoling, but one who looks just as determined as Agent Three ever was to achieve her goals. The Octoling knew better than to be within the radius of Agent Three's Splashdown, Three realizes she's dealing with more than a common soldier, this would truly be a showdown.

Kiaria raises her Octo Shot and charges Agent Three, firing ink all around to trap her so she can't just roll out of the way. She feels like she's done this before, but she shrugs that thought aside and charges in. Agent Three counters by throwing out an Autobomb and pulling an Inkjet canister off her belt, Eight knows she's only got a few seconds to make her move, and she does it! She manages to break Three's armor before she can activate the special, and the Inkling is forced to retreat and recover, superjumping back to the platform she stood atop before.

Kiaria quickly moves out of the way of the autobomb and just lets it explode harmlessly far from her, inking as much of the battleground as she can before Agent Three returns. It doesn't take long for Kiaria to sense Agent Three readying to rejoin the battle, and sure enough, a Splashdown is activated in the air above Kiaria, who's just barely able to roll out of the way of it. Three begins firing on Kiaria immediately, throwing out an autobomb as well to try and corner her. Kiaria throws out a bomb and uses the turf she's covered to swim away and escape while also refilling her ink tank. She remains mindful of the fact that Agent Three could spot her at any moment, so she's always ready to spring out and fire again.

Agent Three, now realizing that the Octoling is hiding in the ink, pulls out a Bubble Blower to try and force her out. But Kiaria was expecting this. She emerges from the ink from right behind Three, and fires on her before the Inkling is even able to react to the sudden change of control. Within microseconds, her armor is broken again and she's forced to retreat a second time. Kiaria doesn't celebrate, she knows this isn't over. Three seems just as determined as Kiaria to win, she knows she has to try something different if she wants to beat the Octoling. This time, she changes her tactic, no superjumping in. Instead she hacks the controls of the platform she's on and pulls tentamissile canisters off her belt, she can't get splatted if she's far enough away to not be shot at.

Two bombs later and Three is forced to retreat further to respawn again. How did she not see this coming? No matter, Agent Three has another ace up her sleeve. And by ace, I mean she has a near infinite supply of Splashdown canisters. She randomly superjumps around the battleground in an attempt to corner the Octoling and splat her. Kiaria knows the pressure is on now, Three is pulling out all the stops so she has to match the intensity.

Kiaria does her best to turf around her while keeping her ink tank filled, using what cover she can to avoid getting hit by the splashdown barrage that Agent Three is unleashing. She manages to avoid them, just barely though, and then once Agent Three is no longer jumping around the map, Kiaria goes in for the attack. But she got arrogant, she assumed she had this one in the bag and got sidelined by an autobomb, breaking her armor. Agent Three takes advantage of the fact that Kiaria is damaged, and fires a flurry of shots towards the Octoling, splatting her very shortly after the shots are fired.

Kiaria wakes up in a cold sweat with a soft but audible gasp. Her hands patting around her body as though she's not convinced she's all in one piece, she can even feel a familiar idle burn on her back. The air feels still and cool, but her body is far too warm for how cold the air is. She needs to calm down before she's able to properly process anything. She takes a couple deep breaths and calms her mind, but something is pulling at her. Slowly she turns her head and she sees it… the golden toothpick, just sitting on her nightstand… what could it mean? Was it related to her dream? Her dream had felt so real… it reminded her a lot of the hazy memory of fighting Agent Three the first time they'd faced off before she fell into Kamabo. But she doesn't remember Three having THAT many special attacks… maybe it's something more?

This isn't the first time Kiaria's had a nightmare like this, in fact she's had them ever since escaping Kamabo. But ever since finding that toothpick, they've been so much more vivid, no longer are they simple flashes of her past. No. Now they're detailed ordeals. They feel so much like reality. Typical dreams are a bit more weird and when you think back on them you NOTICE how weird they are, but these ones could almost be mistaken for an actual event. The only thing that keeps it from that is the fact that it doesn't fit in the timeline at all. Normally when Kiaria had a nightmare like that she'd get up and get something to drink like a glass of water or something in an attempt to clear her head, but something's different now. Something is drawing her to go back. Something is telling her she can win.

"Maybe… if I win… I won't have these nightmares anymore…" Kiaria says to herself softly before grabbing the toothpick off her nightstand and holding it close, she was sure that it would help her win somehow if she did this. It was now or never, she was going to finally understand why this thing was so important, or at the very least, defeat her inner demons. She lays her head back down and closes her eyes, she doesn't really even drift asleep, rather, the dream takes her. She can hear the opening notes of the Calamari Inkantation all over again.

Kiaria found she was having a little more difficulty with the bubbles than she anticipated, Three was being a little more slippery than before, rolling into the bubbles to avoid being shot. Kiaria has to wait out the first set of bubbles and wait until Three was bringing them out again. She waits, and her patience pays off, as when she charges in all she has to do was throw a splat bomb, it impacts the bubble that Three just made and, since it's an instant explosion, Three's armor is broken once again with just a couple extra shots.

"Just two more to go, c'mon Kiaria, you can do this!" Kiaria motivates herself and grips the handle of her Octo Shot a little tighter. She's figured out Three's pattern, she knows what she has to do… it's just a matter of doing it without getting too cocky. Three's attacks followed a very specific pattern, so all she has to do is follow that pattern. The main difficulty came from the random variables relating to where Three jumps into the battlefield. Fortunately this particular part of the pattern doesn't involve that. She feels the slight tug on her form as Tentamissiles lock onto her, and she knows it's go time.

She swims forwards through her ink, coming as close to the platform that Three stands on as she can and throwing a bomb up onto it. She then quickly dives into her ink to refill her tank as quickly as she can while swimming around a little bit to avoid getting hit by tentamissiles or stray autobombs, she has a limited amount of time before the damage of the first bomb wears off. Fortunately, Three decides it's a great idea to float her platform closer to the Octoling. Kiaria smirks as she leaps from the ink and yeets a Splat Bomb right at the Inkling agent, once again breaking her armor and forcing her to retreat.

Finally, it was time for the Splashdowns again, and this time, Kiaria was more than prepared. She inked a path for herself and was already in position when she noticed Agent Three ready to jump in. She Swims to one side of a power coupling cylinder, and Three's first splashdown lands on the other side of it. Then as Three leaps to try and repeat the splashdown, Kiaria swims to the side that Three was just on and once again, Three's Splashdown is met with nothing. Three has one final Splashdown before she has to recharge, so she tries one last time. Just like the last two times, Kiaria outmaneuvers her, and she's left with no choice but to fight her one on one.

Kiaria smirks, having thrown out a splat bomb to corner the inkling, she swims up fast and wastes no time firing on the Inkling agent, intent on winning the fight. Three doesn't just sit and take it of course, she fires back, causing the Octoling's armor to break first. But, Kiraria presses on. Just when it seems like Agent Three is about to take the win, when Kiaria is one shot away from exploding into ink, Kiaria fires a blast of ink right into the Inkling's face sending the Agent backwards with broken armor once more. She's won the fight!

Kiaria's dream fades, and then it shifts. She's back in the metro, central station to be specific. She doesn't remember how she got here. But she sees her locker, it's sitting open, and all that sits inside is the Golden Toothpick. She would question why her locker is here, since before it was buried deep inside of the facility, but she feels drawn to the object sitting in her locker so rather than ponder why it's here, she simply walks towards it. She leans down and picks up the Golden Toothpick, looking it over a couple times, and then pinning it into her ponytail with a smile. The fight is over, her inner hero has been defeated, she feels like the freshest Octoling ever! Then the Metro starts to fade, the world around her going dark, but Kiaria doesn't feel worried, in fact, she feels like this is a good thing. The start of a new chapter.

Slowly Kiaria wakes once again, it's still very late at night and she should still get more sleep. But, notably, the golden Toothpick is now lodged in her ponytail like it had been in her dream, and like how Alex had put it earlier. Kiaria giggles quietly to herself, she'll have to tell Alex that her dream self is a real jerk. But for now, she should really try and get some more sleep, so she pulls the toothpick out of her ponytail, then undoes the band holding her tentacles together, letting them fall free, setting both of these objects back on her nightstand.

Kiaria then turns and scoots a little closer to Alex, pulling her fiancee into a soft hug. Alex purrs quietly, it seems she really likes the embrace. That's good, because after that ordeal, Kiaria could use some happy cuddles with her wife-to-be. She knows they'll have a ton of their own challenges to face, but now their goal is to face whatever the world throws at them together, rather than on their own. No more getting captured and dragged into evil facilities bent on world domination. From now on, whatever happens, they do it together.


	43. 9-5 Oh yeah, they exist!

Pearl had just gotten home after a long day of recording at the studio. She was releasing an album of solo hits and she was working overtime to try and get it done. Marina was initially unsure how she felt about Pearl doing this on her own, but when she realized how much it meant to Pearl to be able to, she tossed aside any worries. She wanted to make sure her Pearlie was happy after all! But now Pearl was home, and she was exhausted. She hangs up her coat, along with her bag, and immediately walks into the living room. She quickly sits her butt on the couch so fast it makes a "pff" noise. She flips on the TV and lays her head back, not really paying attention to it, she just wanted some background noise.

Marina enters the room shortly after, having heard Pearl come in and knowing she'd have had a long day, given it's about ten o'clock at night and she left around seven in the morning. She simply sits next to Pearl and smiles. The short Inkling took notice of the taller Octoling's presence and quickly perked up a little, smiling wide and sitting up properly. Marina opens her arms to invite a hug which Pearl quickly accepts, smiling contently in her partner's arms.

"Seems like someone's had quite the day, did you get all the recording you needed to?" Marina asks Pearl softly while stroking the tentacles on her head, helping her relax after a long day, occasionally pressing a kiss to Pearl's forehead as well to ensure she feels loved as well. Pearl appreciates it a lot and purrs softly as she nuzzles her head into Marina's hand.

"Mmm, most of it. Producer thinks it's a great idea to do remixes in the same album, but with re-recorded vocals to make them more unique. He thinks it'll help sell more copies… all I know is, my vocal cords are sore and my body is tired." Pearl sighs softly, massaging her neck a little from the aforementioned soreness of her vocal cords, followed by a gentle yawn. She'd been so focused on getting her recording done that she hadn't stopped to rest her voice.

"That sounds like a lot of work, but I'm so proud of you for getting it done Pearlie! You're gonna rock the socks off of everyone!" Marina smiles and continues gently stroking Pearl's tentacles. She knows it helps calm the small Inkling, so she makes sure to do it whenever she seems stressed. Plus, she had to spend the entire day not seeing her, she's taking advantage of having her home and showering her with affection now.

"I'm just glad to be home 'Rina, I feel like I could sleep for the rest of the month!" Pearl dramatically throws her hands into the air to emphasise her point, drawing a giggle from Marina, and eventually resulting in the both of them laughing lightly. Their giggles fill the room with the sounds of joy and it helps Pearl relax properly and finally enjoy actually being home with her partner.

"Well I'm glad to have you home!" Marina smiles, giving Pearl a proper hug now, which Pearl graciously returns with a big dumb grin on her face. They hold the hug for a few minutes, not wanting it to end. Sadly though, all things must come to an end, and they pull back out of the hug. Marina strokes Pearl's face softly, then gets an idea. "Well, now that you're home, why don't I make us some food! I've found a new recipe I've been wanting to try out and now seems like the perfect time. It's a shrimp stir-fry!"

"Oh! That sounds really good actually! I'd love that 'Rina!" Pearl's stomach growls almost on cue as she's reminded that food exists and she would very much like to consume some. She'd been so consumed with her work that she hadn't even had lunch, and now it was evening and her body was demanding sustenance. The fact that it was nearly midnight also didn't help, she'd not eaten for nearly the entire day, she was borderline famished!

"Alright! I'll go get it started then." Marina gives Pearl a quick kiss on the lips before standing and heading to the kitchen, ready to cook up some delicious consumables. She starts by getting veggies out of the fridge, and then getting some shrimp out of the freezer, trying to remember which spices she needs as well as she gets everything set up.

Pearl turns the volume of the TV down so she can listen to Marina cook, enjoying the sizzling sounds the food makes as it's cooked, and the smells that waft through the air making her mouth water with anticipation. She knows it's gonna be a damn good meal. Marina starts humming a tune, the tune to Ebb and Flow, which Pearl finds herself also humming along to. This was one of the first songs they had worked on together so of course they would remember it fondly.

Marina dances idly as she cooks the food and hums the tune, adding in the ingredients while occasionally referencing her phone where she'd saved the recipe. She adds some spices and some teriyaki sauce to the mix to add to the flavor, making sure to cook the vegetables and the shrimp evenly so it all comes out perfect. She can hear Pearl humming along and she smiles, happy to know Pearl is listening to her work on dinner.

After roughly half an hour, Marina is finally done cooking the stir fry, and has set to work getting it plated, putting whatever doesn't fit on the plates into a container for later consumption. She then sets the dishes out on the table, complete with utensils, and finally she calls out to Pearl to let her know it's food time.

"Pearlie! Dinner's ready!" Marina's voice rings cheerfully as she puts away the spices and sauce, leaving only the dishes she'd used to cook the meal with out, as they need to be cleaned before they can be put away, and that can be taken care of after dinner.

Pearl basically teleports into the room, her hunger making her yearn for the delicious flavor of food on her tongue. She smiles up at Marina and notices the table is set already and she goes and sits in her usual spot, being joined shortly after by Marina. They don't share any more words for the moment, just giving each other one more quick kiss before quickly starting to dig in to the meal.

"Mmm, this is so good 'Rina! You've outdone yourself!" Pearl compliments Marina on her cooking, smiling and very much enjoying the flavour, it's got the perfect mix of shrimp, vegies, spices, and sauce. She's making sure to eat slowly enough to savour all of the flavors, while also doing it quick enough to satisfy her hunger. Her fork stabs into another helping of shrimp and veggies and she brings it to her mouth, making her moan lightly from the delicious flavour.

"I'm glad you like it Pearlie!" Marina smiles and blushes a little from the praise of her Inkling partner. She's very happy the meal turned out so well, especially since she'd never made it before! If she was to make it again, she would probably add a little more sauce, hers is just a little dry, but only slightly.

They continue eating in relative silence, not wanting to let the food get cold as they munch down their meals. Unsurprisingly however, Pearl is the first one done, as she was the hungrier of the pair, but Marina isn't far behind her. They both wipe their mouths clean and smile at each other.

"Mmm thank you for the delicious meal 'Rina, you spoil me sometimes!" Pearl giggles and blushes softly, feeling very grateful for her Octoling partner and all that she does for her. She wouldn't be nearly the shining star she is today if it wasn't for Marina, Off the Hook is how both of them made it big. Pearl doesn't feel like she owes Marina some great big repayment for it, but she does feel a deep personal connection to her, a deep personal connection she'd felt since they started getting to know each other.

"You're welcome Pearlie! And of course I spoil you, you're my special squid after all!" Marina blushes and giggles as well, pulling Pearl into another hug, which Pearl is of course very quick to return. The pair of Cephalopods simply relax and enjoy each other's embrace for a moment as they let their stomachs settle after having eaten such a full and delicious meal.

"Alright, since you made dinner, it's only fair I clean up." Pearl smiles as she stands, quickly pecking Marina on the lips before turning and heading into the kitchen to clean up the mess, expecting a pile of pots but being surprised that there's only one primary pot used, and a handful of dishes that were used to mix things together. She isn't going to complain though, and she gets to work washing them. Sure they have a dishwasher, but sometimes she likes to do it by hand, helps her relax and take her mind off the stress of the day and focus on something more domestic.

"Alright, I'm gonna go get ready for bed then, see you there when you're done!" Marina smiles and hugs Pearl from behind as she does the dishes, then she heads upstairs towards the master bedroom. Pearl smiles to herself and gets back to work quickly. She may want to join Marina in bed soon, but that doesn't mean she's going to half ass the dishes. She's gonna make sure they're fucking spotless. She scrubs and scrubs and makes sure that she uses enough dish soap. Then it eventually comes time to rinse and dry them, she makes sure to get every spot of soap off the dishes, and making sure they get dried efficiently. Once she's done with that, she drains the sink and puts the dishes away in their appropriate spots.

"Ah, that's done, good!" Pearl smiles and wipes her brow, then she heads up the stairs to the bedroom. When she enters it she finds Marina sitting on the bed with her reading glasses on, nose deep in a book about Inkling history. Pearl, of course, giggles at Marina's obsession with the history of Inklings. She would never judge her for it, Marina came from a place where Inkling history was probably not a common thing to learn, she just found it funny since the book she was reading was one often used in Junior High level classes about world history, and the thought of Marina as a Junior High student made her giggle.

"Oh hey Pearlie! I take it you're done with the dishes now?" Marina smiles and marks her place in the book, folding it closed and setting it on her nightstand. Pearl nods in response and goes to get changed for bed. She slips out of her day clothes and into a fresh set of silk pyjamas, making sure they sit properly on her body, and then she walks back to the bed and joins Marina in it.

"Today was a good day 'Rina, and I can't think of a better way to cap it off than spending the night with the girl I adore." Pearl smiles and kisses Marina softly, Marina of course kissing back tenderly while stroking Pearl's tentacles again.

"Well, I can think of something that might be better." Marina smirks lightly, her hand trailing down Pearl's body and making the Inkling blush. Her hand lands on Pearl's hip as she takes off her glasses and pulls Pearl in for a passionate kiss with a bit more than just lips. Pearl eagerly kisses back with just as much passion, feeling Marina's other hand find its way to the top button of her pyjama top.

"Oh… y-yeah you're right… that is way better…"


End file.
